Harry and Rose Potter Book Four
by SylviaSnape98
Summary: The Triwizard tournament is coming to Hogwarts! Harry's twin, Rose tries to enjoy her time with them at the Quidditch World Cup and during school, but when everything seems to be going wrong can anything go right? The yule ball, the Triwizard Tournament and all of her magical 'creature' friends acting strangely leaves Rose very perplexed as to what is going on.
1. Chapter 1

Remus Lupin didn't know what he was doing. What he did know, was that Rose had gotten him into an elite pack of only the best werewolves, and he didn't know exactly how. He did know, however, that this was the pack that Fenrir Greyback wished he was a part of.

"So, Remus! We're going to have to make a few changes, but I reckon you'll do just fine!" the alpha werewolf of all werewolves said with a large grin.

Remus frowned nervously, "What changes are those?"

"Easy, really. You need to embrace your wolf. It'll make transforming easier, you'll age slower, and it's just generally good for your health."

Remus frowned, "It's not that easy."

"Yes, it is," Delco insisted. "Listen, talk to your wolf. He'll help you. You'll be amazed at how similar he is to yourself."

As the bigger man walked away, Remus called after him, "Why am I here?"  
Delco slowly turned around, "Well, simple really. It's because you're close to Rose."

"If you think you can use me to get to Rose-" Remus said hotly.

Delco, however, easily interrupted, "Not at all. I just think that we need to keep a closer eye on the girl."

"Why? What is she doing to draw this attention to herself?!"

Delco sighed, "You don't feel it, do you?"

"Feel _what?!"_

"Protective. Like you would _die_ for her. Like you didn't know that something was missing out of your world until she came along, and now that she's here you can't ever let her disappear or get hurt. When I met Rose I immediately wanted to do everything she asked me to do, I immediately wanted to bow down before her and swear my fealty to her. She's a little beacon of light, she calls to my wolf with everything she is. She's-"

"Addictive," a new voice said from next to Remus.

Cian, the king of the Vampires was standing there, a little condescending grin on his face, "She's like the sweetest smell in the world, she's like every member of your family combined. She's everything you want in life and _more._ "

"But how?" Remus groaned in defeat. "She's just a girl!"

"A very powerful girl," the other two chorused.

"There also may be the fact of a prophecy," Cian offered.

"No, Harry's the one who has a prophecy," Remus immediately argued.

"Her twin has one too? How impressive," Cian muttered.

"Tell me about this prophecy," Remus demanded.

"Only after you accept your wolf," Delco said with a decisive nod, and then he and Cian walked away, knowing they had given him enough incentive.

* * *

Remus sat on his surprisingly comfortable bed and groaned quietly. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep for, but he had been asleep for awhile. It had taken longer than he had anticipated contacting his inner wolf, but with the help of Faith Kelley he had finally embraced his previous burden.

Blonde, shaggy hair almost fully covered her lean, worried face. She had shuttered amber eyes that were set well within their sockets. Several moles are spread charmingly on her neck and scars litter her body, although miraculously leaving her face intact. Faith was a beautiful woman, and many people adored her even though her heavy german accent made her slightly hard to understand.

 _Remember, Remus, I'm a Kappa, you're a Sigma. This will all come naturally once you embrace your wolf, but letting him know where he sits will be very important to him._

 _Mate._ The wolf inside his head insisted as he looked at the woman who was still asleep on the bed.

 _Not until she's marked._ Remus acknowledged, causing the wolf to growl in annoyance.

 _Kappa?_ His wolf questioned Faith's place in the pack.

 _Kappa._ The meaning of the word suddenly rushed into Remus's brain. Kappa were slightly higher than the average pack member. There was a maximum of four in a pack. Kappas usually do most of the scouting and border patrols, though they often aid in taking care of the older children, those who could be away from their parents. Sometimes their duties to the pack kept them away for weeks at a time.

"You'fe voken up?" Faith asked in a tired voice as she rubbed her eyes.

"I have," Remus said with a smile.

"You haffe accebded your volf?"

"I have," Remus's smile got slightly more shy.

"Ja! Zat is kood! Alpha vill be fery haby!"

Remus blushed, "Well, actually… I have a question for you."

Faith immediately looked on edge, "You haffe ein gueszion for me?"

"Yes. What exactly do you feel for me? Because my wolf is saying-"

"Mate. You are mein mate."

Remus relaxed, "We would have to mark each other."

"Of courze. Ve do zat on the full moon. Ach! You knev zat, didn't you?"

"Yes, I knew that. But if you'll excuse me, Kappa Faith, I need to talk to the Alpha."

"Nein. It is early, you should lay here vith me for avile longer."

Remus smiled and leaned down to gently kiss the woman's cheek, "I'm sorry, I have to speak to him. It's about my adopted cub."

"The flover, correct? Roze?"

"Yes, Rose. I'll be back soon."

Faith nodded her head and settled back down to relax on the bed as Remus walked to where he knew the Alpha would be waiting for him. He could sense everyone in the pack around him, and as he came up to Delco he couldn't help grinning but to grin. He was talking to his Alpha!

"Alpha," Remus said with a bow of his head. "I'm ready to know what you know about Rose."

"It's about time you figured out how to accept your wolf," Delco said with a grin as Cian practically materialized next to him. "We have a lot to tell you about the little Alpha."

* * *

Remus stepped into the house he hadn't seen months. He heard a thundering of feet as Sirius, Harry, and Rose all stampeded to get to him. Somehow Rose managed to beat Sirius and she was being held in his arms seconds before Harry and Sirius attached themselves to him.

"Be careful guys, I'll almost think you missed me," Remus said with a laugh.

Suddenly both Rose and Sirius shot back, "You smell different!" they both said.

Remus frowned, "Yes, I suppose I would. I imagine you're picking up on the more wolfy smell?"

Sirius nodded while Rose shook her head, "You smell like you've been hanging around a female!"

Remus sighed. So much for keeping that a momentary secret, "Let me get into the house, then I'll tell you all about it."

Rose nodded, "You _will_ tell us the truth."

Remus's heart clenched, and all thoughts of lying left his mind, "Yeah, I will."

Finally shutting the door, Remus muttered to himself as everyone else went to the living room, "Little Alpha indeed."

* * *

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday Harry and Rose! Happy birthday to you!"

"Happy Birthday today, may you eat, laugh and play. May these flames be your worries as you blow them away."

"Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too!"

"Very Happy Birthday, what more can I say? I'm shocked you're still kicking when you party this way!"

The general cacophony of voices at Rose and Harry Potter's birthday party made it very difficult to figure out exactly who sang what lyrics, but both Rose and Harry thought they knew who sang about them looking and smelling like monkeys.

"Blow out the candles already!" a voice in the back yelled to general laughter as Rose and Harry blew out their birthday candles.

"What'd you wish for?!" the Weasley twins, Rose's boyfriends, and best friends, immediately asked.

"As if I'm going to tell you," Rose said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I don't think you two need to know," Harry said, although his eyes strayed over to where Hermione Granger, his crush, and best friend, stood.

"Well, everyone dig in!" Rose said with a smile as Mrs. Weasley started cutting the cakes.

General laughter followed and Rose happily sat on Fred's lap with her feet in George's lap.  
"Soooo," Fred said with a smirk, "what'd you wish for?"

"I'll tell you when it happens," Rose said with a wink.

"If you tell us now I'll give you a bite of my cake," George offered, waving the forkful of cake in front of Rose.

"Or you could give it to me anyways? I mean, it's my birthday, isn't it?"

George sighed, knowing he could never deny Rose, and held the fork up to her watching in fascination as she quickly stole the cake from the fork.

"Mmm, you have some frosting on your lip, Spitfire," Fred said, gently wiping the frosting off with his thumb and then licking it off of his thumb.

Rose blushed slightly, "It's not my fault that bite was giant!"

George rolled his eyes as Fred spoke, "If you have issues with the size of that bite I'm sure you'll have bigger problems in the future."

Rose gasped and immediately went pink, "Fred!"

Fred shrugged, and George smirked, "It's true."

Rose groaned and cuddled closer into Fred's chest, his cake having been long finished, "As punishment, Fred, I'm going to stay right here and you're going to feed me!"

Fred rolled his eyes, "Hardly a punishment."

"Well, you wouldn't know yet, would you?"

Fred raised an eyebrow and picked up Rose's fork giving her a bite of her own cake. What he hadn't been expecting was her to make 'bedroom eyes' and to quietly moan. The combination immediately made her sitting on his lap more uncomfortable, and he knew he couldn't do _anything_ about it because people were surrounding them.

"That's unfair, you little witch!" Fred ground out.

George snickered, "Oi, Fred, give the girl what she wants! She wants cake, and you're supposed to be feeding her!"

After a few more bites of cake both of the twins were in a right tizzy. They were looking flustered, and they were intensely focused on Rose's face as Fred fed her the cake. Once the cake was gone the twins were almost disappointed.

"There's no more cake," George pointlessly pointed out.

"You're right," Rose said, deftly taking the fork from Fred and licking it clean.

The twins groaned.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Bill Weasley asked as he walked over. Bill was a tall, thin, handsome man, and had red hair like the rest of the Weasley family. He wore it long and in a ponytail, and he had an earring with a fang dangling from it. He wore clothes that would not be out of place at a rock concert, and he was wearing his well loved dragon hide boots.

"Go away Bill!" Fred and George groaned while Rose laughed.

"Ahhh, that good?" Bill asked with a smirk.

"We don't know, you interrupted it!" Fred and George said again.

Rose laughed and moved to get off of Fred, but found him holding her to him, "Nope, you're not moving."  
"Ahh, so it _was_ good."

Rose smirked, "I don't know, I was rather fond of it."

"You know, it's almost present time," Bill said. "I actually had a question for the little lady."

"She's hardly a lady, Bill," Fred said with a glare at Rose.

"I'll have you know I'm perfectly ladylike! And even if I weren't, you wouldn't have me any other way!"

The twins sighed, "We know."

"Anyways," Rose said, turning her attention back to Bill, "what is it you wanted to ask me?"

"Well… You see, I have a special gift. I thought you might appreciate it but I didn't know if you'd want to wear even more jewelry."

Rose knew Bill was right to question that. On an everyday basis she wore her necklace that proudly said _Padfoots Girl_ on a silver heart charm, her charm bracelet, and her mother's lily ring. She used to wear a snake bracelet that matched a watch that Draco wore, but his words still rang in her head. _I'm going to keep you safe no matter what, Rose, that's what's going on._ Rose hummed thoughtfully and looked at Bill.

"Well, what type of jewelry?"

"It can be earings. Or I could make it into a bracelet. Or another ring. Really it could be whatever you want it to be."

Rose hummed thoughtfully, "Well, let's go with earrings, I need to get my ears pierced soon anyways."

"Why? Need to be like you're awesome older brother Bill?" Bill asked with a dashing smile.

"As if. I'm already better than my awesome older brother Bill."

Fred, George, and Bill laughed, "Well, I'll slip my present into your pile then."

At that moment, Mrs. Weasley's voice pierced the general din that was the backyard of the Abode, "Present time!"

Rose hummed happily as she made her way to the designated area of wrapping paper destruction. It had been decided that Rose wasn't allowed to slowly open her presents this year, she had to tear into everything.

Rose, knowing that her brother was looking at this like a race, immediately started tearing gifts open left and right, not looking at notes or the presents themselves yet. As soon as everything was unwrapped she announced herself the winner and went back to all of the gifts.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had gotten her a thick and warm blanket, Ginny had gotten her hair ties and bobby-pins, Charlie had gotten her a dragon scale from an Antipodean Opaleye, Remus, Sirius, and Victoria had each gotten her a book for the Lord of The Rings series, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had gotten her a book for her chocolate frog card collection, Fred and George had made her tons of their own products (partially for her use and partially to get them away from their mother), and Bill's present was positively spectacular.

Rose opened the little jewelry box and saw two small earrings that had a blue stone that gave off a magical glow. She looked up at him, her curiosity blazing in her eyes.

"Well, you know, there's something every Curse Breaker needs, which is to be able to speak and understand tons of different languages. These little earrings will make it so you understand all languages you come across, and make it so you can speak them too."

Rose's eyes were gigantic, "So you're saying as soon as I get my ears pierced I'm never taking these off ever?"

Everyone laughed, "Yeah, that might be the case. Maybe you'll end up getting your ears pierced multiple times?"

Rose's eyes lit up and she turned to Sirius, who shrugged much to Mrs. Weasley's annoyance, "It's your body kid, do what you want with it."

Rose's smirk was positively wicked and everyone groaned, "Oh, Sirius, what have you done?"

* * *

"Tattoos are not an option," Remus said.

Rose glared at him. They were in a muggle tattoo parlor so she could get her ears pierced. As soon as her first holes were done they were going to heal her ears and take her to another tattoo parlor to get her second holes done.

"Look, I'm just saying that if I got a phoenix tattoo-"

"That Lily would turn in her grave and Molly would kill me? That is a possibility."

"We could blame it on Sirius?" Rose asked hopefully.

"Do that on Sirius's time, not mine."

Rose groaned but happily handed the earrings Bill had given to her to the man who would be piercing her ears.

"This'll sting," the man said knowingly.

"I'm fine with that. I can't _wait_ to do this, though!"

The man laughed and got her to sit still as he found the perfect spots in her ears.

The bell signaling the opening of the door jingled, but Rose didn't turn to look. She almost did, however when she heard a voice speaking to Remus.

"Hello, Remus! Is zat Roze?" the heavily accented female voice asked.

She was distracted from Remus's answer by a sudden pain in her right ear. She blinked and shook her head slightly, getting used to the weight of her new addition. The second earring was the same and Rose smiled brilliantly at the man after they were done.

"Thank you very much! How much do I owe you?"

She quickly handed the man the money she owed him and hurried back to Remus and a pretty blonde woman.

"Rose," Remus said with a wide grin as he ushered them out of the shop and into the street where they wouldn't be questioned. "This is my mate, Faith."  
"It is nice to meet you, Roze. Remus underestimaded your peauty, it is fery dizarming."

Rose blushed lightly as Remus discreetly healed her ears, "He's hardly said a word about yours. All he does if we ask what you look like is sigh and go all mushy."

The two females laughed at Remus's embarrassed expression.

"Well, we need to make another stop, so let's be on our way!" and with that, Remus grabbed their arms and apparated them to their next tattoo parlor.

"Hello, how may I help you?" asked the woman behind the counter.

"I'd like to get my ears pierced please! I got them pierced six months back, and I just _need_ to do it again!"

The woman laughed in understanding, "Of course! Come on, let's get you set up. Do you have a pair already or do you need to choose one?"

Rose smiled shyly, "I have a pair already."

The woman held her hand out for the pair, and Rose shyly handed them over. Sirius had taken the twins shopping for a pair of earrings for her, and they settled on a pair of small rose quartz studs.

"They're very pretty," the woman acknowledged as she pulled Rose into the back room to get her set up.

"Thank you! They're a gift from my dad and boyfriend."

The woman hummed in agreement, before she inspected Rose's other earrings, "I'll need you to take those off. They're rather _enchanting_ , though, don't you think?"

Rose paused as she started taking her earrings off, "Really? I thought they were rather muggle."

The woman laughed, "Thought so. So how long ago did you _really_ get those done?"

"Maybe five minutes."

"That's the way to do it."

They were silent until Rose's ears were pierced for the second time and Rose put in her old pair of earrings, "How much do I owe you?"

The woman shook her head, "I know who you are, you don't owe me a thing?"

"If you don't let me pay I'll mysteriously leave five-hundred pounds here."

The woman sighed, "Fine. Six pounds."

Rose happily paid and told the woman to have a good day before skipping over to Remus and Faith, "Well, I'm ready when you are!"

* * *

Rose woke with a yelp. She lay flat on her back, breathing hard as though she had been running. She had awoken from a vivid dream with her hands pressed against her face. The old scar on her forehead, which was shaped like a bolt of lightning, was burning beneath her fingers as though someone has just pressed a white-hot wire on her skin.

She sat up, one hand still on her scar, the other searching for the two-way mirror Fred and George had given her the summer before. She paused as she looked at the mirror, and then set it down again.

Rose ran her fingers over the scar again. It was still painful. She turned on the lamp beside her, scrambled out of bed, crossed the room, opened her wardrobe, and peered into the mirror on the inside of the door. A short girl of fourteen looked back at her, her hazel eyes puzzled under her red hair. She examined the lightning-bolt scar of his reflection more closely. It looked normal, but it was still stinging.

Rose tried to recall what she had been dreaming about before she had awoken. It had seemed so real…. There had been one person she knew and one she didn't…. She concentrated hard, frowning, trying to remember….

The dim picture of a darkened room came to her…. There had been a snake on a hearth rug…a cold, high voice… the voice of Lord Voldemort. Rose felt as though an ice cube had just slipped down into her stomach at the very thought….

She closed her eyes tightly and tried to remember what Voldemort had looked like, but it was impossible…. All Rose knew was that at the moment when Voldemort's chair had swung around, and she, Rose, had seen what was sitting in it, she had felt a spasm of horror, which had awoken her… or had that been the pain in her scar?

And who had the old man been? For there had definitely been an old man; Rose had watched him fall to the ground. It was all becoming confused. Rose put her face into her hands, locking out her bedroom, trying to hold on to the picture of that dimly lit room, but it was like trying to keep water in her cupped hands; the details were now trickling away as fast as she tried to hold on to them…. Voldemort and someone else had been talking about someone they had killed, though Rose could not remember the name…. And they had been plotting to kill someone else… _Harry!_

Rose took her face out of her hands and immediately walked into her twin brother's room, not bothering to ask for entrance or to even knock. She found her brother staring at her from his wardrobe, where is mirror was in plain sight.

"Bad dream?" she whispered as she slipped the door shut.

"You could say that," Harry muttered as he walked over to his bed. "You?"

"You could say I had a bad dream too."

Harry sighed, and they both went restlessly to his bed and sat down on it, running their fingers over each others scars. They both knew that it wasn't the pain that bothered them, but the reason behind the pain. The last time their scars had hurt it had been because Voldemort had been close by…. But Voldemort couldn't be here, now…. The idea of Voldemort lurking in Cokeworth was absurd, impossible….

They curled up on the bed with each other, taking comfort in the other one's presence.

"Have you told the twins yet?" Harry asked.

"No. Have you told Sirius yet?"

"No."

"What would they say if we told them our scars were hurting?"

Rose and Harry knew exactly what they would say. Fred would make a joke, George would get instantly worried. Sirius would go to Dumbledore, and Remus would try to puzzle it out.

"Perhaps we should write a letter to Dumbledore?" Harry asked nervously.

"And say what? _Dear Professor Dumbledore, Sorry to bother you, but our scars hurt this morning. Yours sincerely, Harry and Rose Potter."_

Once voiced the idea sounded extremely stupid.

They were quiet again, and Rose was on the cusp of falling asleep when Harry spoke, "I'll tell Sirius in the morning. He can figure out what to do."

Rose groaned in order to agree and curled closer to her twin, both of them swiftly falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Sirius didn't immediately go to Dumbledore. First, he asked them to write down what had previously caused pain in their scars, and then he questioned them one on one. The questioning had been the hardest part. He had said that that was the latest in very strange information he had been gathering and that it was a good thing Mad-Eye Moody was being drawn out of retirement to go work in the castle. He asked her to describe the pain, and that had made her come up short.

"Describe the pain?" Rose asked with wide eyes.

"Yes. Is it stabbing? Is it shocking? Is it throbbing?" Sirius asked, his eyes worried.

Rose blinked. The pain was a stabbing sensation in a way. It later throbbed, but that wasn't what confused her, "It's… Well, it's sort of distant."

"Distant?" Sirius asked in confusion.

"Well… Yeah. It's… It's like I'm not really feeling it. It's like… It's like a really strong phantom pain."

Sirius nodded his head slowly, "Okay…?"

Remus walked in, "Hello, Sirius, Rose. Sarah and Victoria are waiting for Rose, so Sirius, I think it's time to cut the questioning short."

Sirius nodded his head sharply, "Yeah, that'll have to do."

He pushed himself off the table he had turned into a chair and hugged Rose for a brief moment, "We'll see you when you get back, Rose."

Rose smiled shyly, "Yeah, I guess you will. If I don't return avenge my death."

The laughter that rang through the house was abruptly cut short when there was a squeal of excitement from the living room, a thump, a yelp, and then the sounds of the floo roaring to life.

"Did Rose just get kidnapped by my fiancee and her best friend?" Sirius asked dazed.

"I think that might be the case."

They shuddered, "We never speak of this again, okay?"

"Deal."

What they didn't mention was that they thought out of the three females that were going on that trip they thought Victoria needed it most. She had been getting more and more stressed, every little thing that went wrong was a bomb in her eyes, and she was getting more vicious in her Auror missions. They hoped that this would help make her feel better.

When Rose and Victoria returned it was with what seemed like hundreds of bags, and Victoria left no time before going into Rose's room and taking almost all of her old clothes. Victoria didn't seem to be doing any better, and Rose seemed to be traumatized by the whole experience.

When they later asked Rose what happened she would look haunted and would blink owlishly, "I'm not sure what happened. All I know is that the only baggy clothes I could keep were stuff I had stolen from males and my sleeping stuff."

The first time she had said it they thought it was funny. The second time they realized she said she stole clothes from males. The third time they realized that she had blocked the experience out of her mind.

Later that night they were all sitting around the table when Harry nervously asked Victoria if she was okay. She had been violently tearing her chicken apart with only a fork, her movements sharp.

She paused when Harry spoke to her, though, "What Harry?"

"Are you okay…? You've been getting sick in the mornings and you're getting really stressed… So are you okay?"

Victoria's face tightened up and for a second they thought she would ignore the question but she exploded instead, "No I'm not okay! I'm pregnant!"  
Immediately she was up and out of the kitchen. A door slammed upstairs and everyone at the table flinched.

"She's pregnant?" Remus muttered looking at Sirius. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I… I didn't know," Sirius said, his face pale. "I need to go make sure she's okay."

He stood up and walked out of the room, his gait off, and Gandalf whined from his place under the table.

"Go help them Gandalf," Rose said quietly.

The puppies bark was loud in the otherwise silent room as he bound out of the room and toward Sirius's and Victoria's bedroom.

"Does this mean I'm going to be an older brother?" Harry wondered out loud.

Remus and Rose smiled slightly, "That's probably true. Let's give them space, though, I imagine there will be yelling. I can take you to visit my pack?"

"Yes!" the children yelled for two different reasons.

"Get your jackets and we'll go."

Rose and Harry had their jackets on in seconds. Rose's jacket wasn't even a jacket, in fact, it was Fred's quidditch hoodie and it was around her waist. Harry had a bomber jacket on as it was light enough to not overheat him, but heavy enough to keep him warm if necessary.

"Hold my hands," Remus said, holding his hands out.

Rose and Harry grabbed his hands tightly and with a _pop!_ they were gone. They appeared in the middle of what seemed to be a small town. The only thing that clued them into the fact that they weren't in an average town was the lack of roads and the sheer amount of people who were immediately watching them.

"Remus? Vat are you doing here? And vith Roze and Harry? Is zomething vrong?" a tense Faith Kelley asked, approaching with another woman and two other men following her.

"We needed to clear out of the house for a short while, I offered to show them the pack."

Faith nodded, much more relaxed now. She turned back to the three people behind her and nodded. The other three relaxed and stepped forward. The other woman stepped forward and smiled slightly at them.

"Hello, I'm Valerie, one of Faith's fellow Kappa's," she said, her shockingly white teeth causing a sharp, almost disturbing contrast with ebony skin. Her black hair was coily, and almost hid the round, constantly worried face behind it. She had piercing green eyes that were watching everything around her, seemingly never still.

Next, one of the men stood forward. He was heads and shoulders taller than the rest, and Rose put him around 7 feet tall, his body lithe despite his height. "Hello, I'm Tibarn, the most experienced of the Kappa's." His smirk brought attention to his wide lips and to his face in general. His smart hazel eyes seemed to bulge slightly out of his sockets, and his long brown hair accented his long, lively face.

The last man stood forward, his broad frame brushing up against Tibarn's, almost subconsciously, "I'm Dominic, this one's," he elbowed Tibarn in the side, "mate. I'm also a Kappa, the newest one actually." Auburn, shaggy hair was neatly coiffured to reveal a long, wild face. Hollow blue eyes, set rooted within their sockets, always looking for something out of place. Fire had left a mark stretching from just under the right eye , running towards the left side of his lips and ending on his left cheekbone.

"It's nice to meet you all," Rose and Harry said with large smiles.

"I'm Rose," Rose said with a slight bend in her neck.

"I'm Harry," Harry said, copying Rose's posture.

Before anyone could say anything else there was a slight breeze, and the five werewolves present flared their nostrils as they picked up a scent. However, they didn't have to go looking for the source.

"Rose!" Cian's strange voice called out.

"Cian!" Rose yelled back, turning around until she could find him, where he was hiding in the shade of the forest not that far away. Before anyone (namely Harry) could stop her she was running up to the vampire and hugging him. She felt him inhale her scent but didn't say anything about it as she hugged him.

"You look different," Cian said, pushing her back and staring at her intently, his eyes roving over her in a way that would appear intimate if Rose didn't know him better.

"Guess what it is!" she said, striking a pose as Harry and the werewolves walked over towards them.

"Hmm," Cian said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Well, your clothes are different for one. Seem to fit you better."

Rose nodded her head eagerly, "Yeah! What else?"

Cian smirked, as her nodding her head had brought attention to what she wanted him to notice, "You're wearing earrings."

"I am!"

Cian finally took notice of the others that were with Rose, "Ahh! Remus, Harry, Kappas."

Everyone nodded to him except for Harry, "Aren't you the vampire Rose met when we were six?"

Cian smirked, "That would be me."

Harry nodded, "It's… Nice to meet you again."

Cian shrugged, "No need to lie to me. You should go see Delco, Rose, he's been talking about you."

Rose frowned slightly, "Talking about me?"

"That's what I said. Go, find him. I'm sure the wolves that are with you can offer assistance."

Four of the five 'wolves' didn't appear to be very happy with that arrangement. Remus, however, shrugged, "I'll take her to see Alpha."

Valerie looked at Remus with wide eyes, "That's not your station!"

Rose glared at her, "Is it your station to tell people what they can and cannot do? Because last I checked that was the Alpha's job."

Valerie's cheeks darkened and she looked away from Rose. Cian shook his head, "Yes, Rose, you definitely need to see him. I'll meet you once the sun is down, but it's too bright for me."

Rose nodded and turned to Remus, Harry remaining very quiet and still, "Well, I want to go see Delco now!"

The Kappa's all groaned at the small child calling him his name so casually while Remus just smiled, "Of course. You can talk to him and Harry can meet him."

Remus leaned over to Faith and whispered something to her, causing her to nod and kiss his cheek before her and the other Kappas left, and a small rustle of leaves was the only sign that Cian had done the same. Remus started walking briskly and Rose and Harry had to lightly jog to keep up.

"Now, you two will respect Delco, understood?" Remus asked fiercely.

Rose nodded, but Harry spoke up, "I don't understand. What's so special about Rose? That vampire seemed to like her a lot, and she got you into an elite werewolf group? I'm sorry, Rose, but it makes no sense."

Rose was so busy glaring at her twin that she didn't recognize the brief flicker of panic across Remus's face, "I'm not special at all! I'm just a lot nicer than you!"

Remus sighed, "No fighting, kids."

"She started it!" Harry protested.

"And I'm finishing it," Remus said with a sharp look.

Harry groaned and Rose smirked victoriously, although the smirk quickly melted off of her face when Remus sent her a sharp look. They continued walking until they reached a house that was bigger than the others. Immediately it was obvious why this house was two stories whereas all the others were only one.

The house was stylish, it had been built with wheat colored bricks and had poplar wooden decorations. Small, rectangular windows brighten up the house and had been added to the house in a fairly asymmetrical pattern. The house was partially surrounded by cloth sunscreens on two sides. The second floor was the same size as the first, but part of it hung over the edge of the floor below, creating an overhang on one side and a balcony on the other. The roof was high and slanted to one side and was covered with red ceramic tiles. Two large chimneys sat at either side of the house. Remus's knock on the door brought Rose out of her study of the building.

Delco opened the door. A very nearly naked Delco. Delco who was apparently in _very_ good shape, and Delco who was only protecting his modesty with a towel that was _much_ too small to protect anything. Rose squeaked and turned around quickly so she didn't have to look any longer, "Delco! Put some clothes on!"

"Hey, you're the one's house calling!" Delco's rough voice said.

"Yeah, well, Cian told us to come here! So let us in and put some clothes on!"

Delco's laugh rang through Rose's mind, and his retreating voice could be heard, "Come on in then! Don't get _too_ comfortable, though!"

Rose sighed and turned back around walking into the house. Remus seemed flustered and Harry's eyes were gigantic.

"He was gigantic," Harry said in awe.

"I hope you're talking about his height body mass and _not_ anything else," Rose said sharply as she looked around inside the house. The house was rather modest, despite the illusion of grandeur on the outside. The first floor all seemed to be one gigantic room, a mix of a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Rose also noted there were stairs going up and stairs going down, which meant that he even had a basement. The decorations were sparse, there was only one browning plant in a cobwebbed corner that showed any sort of personal touch to the house. The chairs were all simple and wooden, the couch was black and seemed a little threadbare, and there were no drapes or curtains of any kind to speak of.

"So," Delco voice said as he started stomping down the stairs, "what brings you all here anyways?"

"Sirius and Victoria needed to talk, and I offered to show the kids around," Remus said with a strained smile.

"Ahh. Goodman," Delco said with a nod.

Rose wanted in on the secret that seemed to pass between the two men but Delco spoke again before she could say anything, "You must be Rose's twin. Harry, correct?" Delco didn't wait to be corrected or agreed with, he just stuck his gigantic hand out to shake Harry's. "Delco Paternus."

"Harry Potter," Harry said, shaking the hand that easily enveloped his whole hand.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Harry. Now," Delco's Amber eyes settled onto Rose. "I believe I haven't given you a proper greeting."

Rose rolled her eyes, "Yes, I would agree, showing up with only a _towel_ on to open your door was a _very_ improper greeting."

Delco laughed, and a wolfish grin spread across his face, making Rose back up, "Oh, no, mister! You're not going to do what you want to do!"

"You don't know what I want to do," Delco pointed out, the grin never wavering from his face.

"Remus!" Rose squealed as she turned and ran towards her guardian. "Help!"

Remus shook his head, feeling the pull in his chest to follow her command, but all he did do assist the running girl from the much faster man was open his arms so he could hold her if she reached him. It was a useless gesture and he knew it, as not even a second later Delco's arms were wrapped around the laughing girl's waist and he was giving her a hug.

"See, not so bad!" Delco said with a loud laugh.

Harry watched with wide eyes, "I don't know, it looks like you could break her in half."

"Oh, and I could. But I won't. Too old to go to prison for murder, you see."

Harry frowned, "You only look like your in your thirties. How old _are_ you?"

"Harry! You can't just ask people how old they are!" Rose said from her place in Delco's arms.

"Yeah, Harry! Listen to your twin!" Delco said, sticking his tongue out childishly at Harry.

Delco set Rose back on her feet, and she immediately punched him for picking her up, but his laughter showed that she had done more damage to herself than she had to him. Suddenly Rose remembered the reason they had sought out Delco, "Cian says you've been talking about me?"

Delco's face got a slight peach hue to it, "Oh, did he now?"

A knock on the door caught almost all of them by surprise. Delco seemed to have expected it, though, "Ahh. It is that time isn't it?" he glanced at the window and then walked to the door, opening it to reveal a woman. Chestnut, short hair revealed a fine, lived-in face. Shining blue eyes were watching over everything with thinly veiled aggression. Scars marred her face, one over her right eye, and three grouped together following her left cheekbone. She has a lean frame and seemed to be average height. She also gave off a strong vibe of arrogance.

"Delco," she said in a forceful alto. "It appears you have guests."

Delco nodded, "Josephine, come in and I'll introduce you."

Josephine's sigh of derision was by no means quiet as she stepped into the house. She looked over Remus closely but her eyes barely graced Harry or Rose.

"Those two aren't like us," her voice held a sharp edge to it.

"Stand down, Josephine," Delco's eyes flashed which allowed Rose to see the wolf within him. "Our fellow werewolf is-"  
"Remus Lupin, mate to Faith Kelley. I know, Delco," her eyes flashed too, almost in challenge. "I _am_ the Beta here, I keep track of ours."

"No, you keep track of Bloodmoon Alpha Pack, not all of _mine_."

It was obvious to Rose that this was a common issue between the two. Josephine didn't seem to heed Delco's words even though he was her Alpha, and for some reason that made Rose aggravated. She felt like something inside of her was curling around in anger at her obvious disrespect.

"Yes, well, who are the other two," Josephine said after breaking the glaring contest she had been having with Delco.

"The other two are Harry and Rose Potter."

Josephine had looked put-upon until Delco mentioned Rose's name, "Oh? Rose? And Harry… I'd imagine he's her twin, correct? Their parents are dead, aren't they?"

Rose and Harry stiffened and Remus growled lowly in his throat. Delco laid his hand on Josephine's shoulder, and based on his white knuckles it was not a nice gesture, "Apologise, Josephine."

Josephine's eyes flashed with irritation before she sighed, "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. I'm just… I've been persecuted my whole life for being what I am. Seeing two 'normal' humans in front of me just made me irritated. It was rude, and not like me, and I apologize. I'll try to be more considerate in the future."

Rose nodded, "Thank you for apologizing."

Harry didn't want to accept the apology but when Rose punched his arm he begrudgingly nodded at Josephine. Josephine smiled weakly at Rose and Harry before turning to Delco again, "Listen, I was only coming to tell you that we'll need more food for the full moon, we're running low on the proper foods."

Delco rubbed his face in irritation, "Of course, we are. I'll talk to my supplier."

"Maybe…" Josephine's brow was folding into itself with nervousness, "we could go hunting? We haven't hunted for a while, and we really need to teach the yearlings how to hunt, otherwise your future 'higher-ups' will be the best of the weak."

Delco smiled gently at Josephine who brightened up, "Yes, I'm sure we can hunt too. But you and I both know that some of the women can't and I believe out Omega is expecting again."

Josephine snorted and started walking to the door, "When isn't she? You really need to talk to her mate."

"Her mate is out of my control," Delco said and understanding passed between the two before Josephine nodded sharply and left.

"Well, that was… Something," Harry said. "I guess that proves that not all werewolves are nice."

"I apologize for my Beta. She's normally friendly, but she is very inconsiderate of others. She's Beta because of how many times she's saved other members of the pack, but she can be ruthless to others."

Rose nodded and yawned quietly, "Yeah, I can see that in her."

Delco and Remus both noticed Rose's yawn, "Perhaps you should stay in our little camp today?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Hardly little. But where would we stay?"

Remus blushed, "We certainly can't stay with Faith. The house is too small."

Delco smirked, "The kids can stay here, you go have fun with your mate."

Harry's eyes widened, "I'm not a kid! Which means Rose isn't one either!"  
Rose shook her head and started walking up the stairs, somehow knowing where to go, "Shut up Harry. I'm going to sleep, you should too."

Harry sighed and looked at the large man in front of him, "Where should I go? I know Rose is already stealing a room, but I don't like intruding."

Delco rubbed his stubbled chin, "You can use the bedroom one door down from the bathroom. I'm sure Rose is stealing my bedroom, that seems like something she would do, so that'll put you across the hall from her."

Harry simply nodded and waved to Remus before he went up the stairs to go to 'his' room. Remus left seconds later, eager to spend the night with Faith. Almost a minute later the door quietly opened again and shut even more quietly as Cian made his way into the house, finding Delco making a sandwich.  
"So?" Cian probbed.

"So what?" Delco deflected.

"Did you tell her?"

Delco rolled his eyes, "No."

Cian frowned, "But she's asleep in your room?"

Delco shrugged a shoulder, "I didn't tell her, and neither will you. We'd likely have hell to pay from the newest addition of my pack."

"I doubt Mr. Lupin would say anything about it. He has Ms. Kelley to distract him."

"I doubt that he _wouldn't_ say anything," Delco rubbed his chest and glanced up the stairs. "All I know is it's getting stronger, and I'm not quite sure what it is."

Cian jumped up onto one of the counters of the 'kitchen', "Well, you aren't mates."

Delco wrinkled his nose, "No, not in the normal sense at least. I think she smells weird when she doesn't have the scent of one of her two mates on her."

Cian nodded, "And she's not your daughter."

Delco shrugged, "I've never mated with a female."

"And you're not related in any way."

"No familial relation."

"Then you have some sort of bond," Cian said with a nod.

"But what one? There are loads of bonds, Cian, and if we don't get this figured out soon it will mean consequences for the both of us."

"I imagine you have one of two bonds with her," Cian said, slipping from his place on the counter to wrap his arms around Delco. "Either a Friendship bond or a Sibling bond."

Delco's arms wound around Cian loosely as he thought it over, "I think the Sibling bond is what we're looking at."

Cian hummed for a second in the back of his throat, "I'm sure. Now," Cian moved away from Delco, "Have you figured out who your mate is yet?"

Delco groaned and stalked over to his couch before collapsing onto it, "No!"

Cian sat next to him, "So he's not one of yours. That's a good thing, right?"

"No! If he's not one of mine how am I supposed to find him?"

"I'd imagine the same way you got to your position here. It was fascinating to watch, though. I remember sending some of my humans to watch you. A bastard, orphan, a son of a whore, and you just grew into more of a phenomenon. Then the old alpha found out about your preference and war started! Oh, to watch all of his followers turn on him and support you was a beautiful experience."

Delco snorted, "I'm sure that I will not find my mate by appealing to his ideals. I don't even know who he is, let alone what he stands for."

Cian patted Delco on the back, "You'll find him. Now, I need to get going. I haven't been to the castle in close to a month, I'm sure they're distraught at my absence."

They both snorted knowing just how untrue that was, but no more words passed between them as Cian disappeared into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

When Rose woke up she was confused about where she was until everything rushed back to her. Victoria being pregnant, Remus bringing them to his pack, Cian sending her to Delco, meeting Josephine, and falling asleep in what she assumed was Delco's room. There was light streaming into the room through a skylight and Rose groaned tiredly before standing up and stretching, her attention drawing itself to the body that filled a chair to the other side of the bed. Delco was shirtless and just in sweat pants, but Rose didn't feel uncomfortable. She felt like she did when Harry was shirtless.

"Wake up," Rose said walking over to Delco and pushing on his shoulder.

Delco's eyes snapped open and he glared at her, "You're not nice."

"Yeah, well I'm also not with Remus so you're cornered now. Tell me why you've been talking about me, Cian said you were but you got out of telling me why yesterday."

Delco frowned and got up, making Rose squeak and fall onto the bed. Delco just rolled his eyes at her and put on a shirt, "Well. I have some news for you."

"Oh?"  
"Do you know what a Sibling Bond is?"

"A bond between siblings?" Rose guessed.

"Wrong," Delco stretched for a second before looking at Rose appraisingly. "Magic can create bonds for people, as I'm sure you know."  
"Yes. That's why proper triads are so powerful, magic creates them."

"Correct, but I thought you would know that. Now, a Sibling Bond is another thing that Mother Magic creates. What it is is essentially Magic saying that those who share the bond are closer than friends, but not as intimate as lovers. The bond will manifest in different ways. For instance, there are some who have to save the other from great peril in order for the bond to cement itself. Others simply meet and the bond starts. Ours was triggered upon meeting, and it is safe to assume that we only need to accept it for several side effects to go away."

Rose frowned at Delco. He seemed very guarded and nervous, but Rose didn't understand why, the bond didn't sound like a bad thing at all, "And?"

"And," Delco sighed and handed her a brush that appeared to have never been used from one of his nightstands, "then we would be bonded until one of us died. The bond doesn't do anything special normally, but under certain circumstances there are… things that would change."

Rose's eyes flashed with recognition and then dimmed to resignation, "If I accept the bond as I'm sure you already have I'd gain some of your qualities, wouldn't I? I'd be able to smell better and see better and the like."

Delco nodded, "Yes."

Rose groaned, "It's just never simple is it?"

"Not with you. But Rose, there is something else I need to tell you. This bond is more dangerous than it sounds. If either of us denies it's existence, or you refuse to accept it, both of us will suffer consequences. Sharp pains, irregular heartbeat, high temperatures, sensitivity to light, anything is possible. I need you to know that although I've accepted it I won't force you too, I can bear the pain if you don't want to be my sister through magic. I just needed you to know that we'll never be able to deny our bonds existence or we'll suffer."  
Rose groaned and punched him in the arm, "You're a right arse, aren't you? Going and accepting the bond and then knowing that if I don't accept it'll hurt you forever."

Delco grinned sheepishly, "Well, you know, I got excited."

Rose snorted, "We've met once, and only exchanged three letters."

"But I feel like I've known you my whole life," Delco said with a sigh. Rose had to admit that she felt strangely familiar with him too. If she had stayed with anyone else the night before she would have gone to a spare room, but she knew that it'd be fine to take Delco's, and she knew that she'd sleep better if she did. Without understanding how she did it, Rose accepted the bond.

Suddenly she made a face and held her head for a second, adjusting to her even more sensitive hearing. She could smell things more clearly too, the previous scent that she associated with Delco separating into numerous smells; cedar, musk, something that smelt very similar to chocolate, and sunshine. She felt herself gain more energy too; she felt as if she could run miles and never grow tired.

She felt Delco's hand on her back and relaxed slightly before removing her hands from her head, "Harry is going downstairs now."

"I know. You head down first, I'm going to get completely changed. Welcome to the pack sis," Delco said with a grin and a rough pat on the back, ignoring the glare that Rose sent him. Rose wandered downstairs, knowing before she even got onto the ground floor that Remus was there too.

"Good morning Harry, Remus," Rose said with a wide smile.

"Good morning Rose," they chorused.

"So! Once Delco comes down and says it's okay we should head home. I imagine that Victoria's breakfast potatoes won't be enough to tide both her and Sirius over."

Delco walked down the steps hardly a second later and smirked at her, "Leaving me already? And after the wonderful night we shared!" he placed his hand on his chest as if he were mortally wounded, completely ignoring the death glare he was receiving from Remus at the comment.

Rose rolled her eyes, "Nothing happened last night you idiot. Now, we need to go. Permission to leave?"  
"Permission granted you swot. Go on, I'm sure I'll see you before summer's end."

Rose smiled and waved at him as she and Harry grabbed onto Remus's arm, disappearing with a _pop!_

* * *

"Listen up, you're going to stay here whether you like it or not!" the cool voice spoke into his ear.

Cian groaned and pushed the woman to the side, ignoring the flash of annoyance that went through her mismatched eyes, "No I'm not. I have more things to do than sit around a castle all day and wait for one of the clans to have a problem!"

"But what about when they do have a problem Cian?! What then? I can't keep on making all the decisions for you, your people are going to revolt!"

Cian stepped back and sighed, running his hand through his hair. In all honesty, his position in the Vampire society bored him to no end, and had for the last two-hundred years, coincidentally coinciding with the appearance of a certain werewolf. He often left his job to Cordelia, who helped to the best of her ability, but she had never been trained to take on the position, unlike Cian.

"Fine, fine. Here's what we'll do. Every night on Saturday I will be here to deal with problems that arise in the clans. Tell them all that, and that if they really need to contact me, they can stop by Nightstop and tell me what they need, or have one of the employees give me a message at my next arrival. It's not like I don't see a lot of them often anyways it feels like I talk to half of the clans daily."

Cordelia's pretty face lost it's tense quality and she sighed quietly, "Thank you, Cian. It's good to have you home."

Cian studied Cordelia then. Black, silky hair revealed a strong, normally tense face. Her shuttered eyes were two different colors, one always black, and one always red. There were freckles spread gorgeously across her cheeks and forehead, leaving a bittersweet memory of her time as a human. She stood straight and tall at all times and gave off an illusion of strength despite her fragile frame. He knew that filling in for him had taken its toll on the woman in front of him and he smiled sadly, "It was the Fanged Night that caused this wasn't it?"

Cordelia's face tightened up again, "I don't know why you haven't simply disbanded them! They seem to think they're above all rules, that they're better than any other Vampires, living _or_ dead!"

Cian laughed humorlessly and shook his head, "I said the same thing to my mentor. He told me that the reason we let them stay together is that if they weren't they would infect others with their thinking."

Cordelia paused, "That… makes a lot of sense."

"Of course, it does, Everild was a very wise man."

Sadness settled between the two for a fleeting moment before Cordelia smiled slightly at Cian, "So, I'm assuming you were with your wolf?"

"Of course, and I met the prophecy child again."

"Ember's daughter?"

"The very same."

Cordelia frowned, "I still don't know why you told me about that."

"Because, Cordelia, one day you will meet her, and I can't have you being rude to her. She doesn't deserve it, and I don't know what would happen to you if you were rude. She's here to help us, not to harm us, and I needed you to know that her power isn't a negative against us."

Cordelia frowned, "Who all has she met with?"  
"Delco, a fairy named Aelfric, and myself. At least, I believe that's all she knows."

Cordelia frowned and leaned against one of the vast stone walls of the castle, "Well, convince her to pay a visit to the Stargazers. If she can gain their favor she _has_ to be the prophecy child."

"You want her to visit the Centaurs?"

"I want her to prove she's the prophecy child."

"She doesn't even know that she's part of a prophecy!"

"She does know that she keeps meeting extraordinary 'beasts' though. First you, then a fairy, then your wolf. I'm sure Centaurs will seem easy to her."

Cian glared at her, "You want her to fail."  
"No, I want to be excited for once. I also want to see how invested you are in this girl. Cian, if she's _not_ the prophesied one, what will you do?"

Before Cian could respond Cordelia was gone.

* * *

"Rose, dear, it's time to get up," Mrs. Weasley whispered as she gently shook Rose's shoulder.

"Don't wanna," Rose groaned.

"You'll need to if you want to go the Cup."

Rose groaned and started grumbling about making the biggest mistake of her life when she agreed to travel to the World Cup with the Weasley's as Mrs. Weasley walked out. Sirius, Victoria, and Remus were already at the cup site and had offered to bring Rose and Harry with them. In an attempt to spend more time with Fred and George Rose had agreed with Harry that they would go with the Weasley's. When Rose was finally dressed she stumbled her way downstairs where Mrs. Weasley was stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove, while Mr. Weasley was sitting at the table, checking a sheaf of large parchment tickets. He looked up as Rose entered and spread his arms with a broad smile. He was wearing what appeared to be a golfing sweater and a very old pair of jeans, slightly too big for him and held up with a thick leather belt.

"What d'you think?" he asked anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito - do I look like a Muggle, Rose?"

"Yeah," Rose smiled exhaustedly, "very good."

She was pulled into the seat between Fred and George and she put her head on the table as she tried to fall back asleep.

"Where're Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" said George, trying and failing to stifle a huge yawn which set Rose's own yawn off.

"Well, they're Apparating, aren't they?" said Mrs. Weasley, heaving the large pot over to the table and starting to ladle porridge into bowls. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in."

"So they're still in bed?" Rose and Fred said grumpily.

"Why can't we Apparate too?" Fred continued as he got Rose to get her head off the table and pushed her porridge bowl towards her.

"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "And where have those girls got to?"

She bustled out of the kitchen and they heard her climbing the stairs.

"Go get 'em!" Rose yelled after her before she lost the small amount of energy she had gained and she collapsed against George's shoulder.

"Are we going to have to carry you?" George said with a sigh as he switched from eating with his right hand to eating with his left.

"Don't wanna," Rose whined as she curled closer to him.

"Come on, Spitfire, sit up," Fred said as he tried to pull her into a regular sitting position much to the amusement of Harry and Mr. Weasley.

"No," Rose grumbled as she started clinging to George.

"Look, Rose, you really need to eat. It'll make you feel better," George tried to bargain.

"Don't you want me to hug you?" Rose asked, her tiredness making her sound as if she were on the verge of tears.

At this point Harry stepped in, having both been the victim and the witness of this trap before, "Rose, sit up or we'll leave you here and you won't get any time with Fred or George."

Rose groaned and glared at her twin as she pulled herself into a sitting position, "I'm going to get Charlie to Apparate me," she declared.

"Charlie had to take the test twice, remember?" Fred said with a giant grin. "He failed the first time, Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?"

"Yes, well, he passed the second time," said Mrs. Weasley, marching back into the kitchen amid hearty sniggers.

"Percy only passed two weeks ago," George noted switching back to eating with his right hand. "He's been Apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can."

There were footsteps down the passageway and Hermione and Ginny came into the kitchen, both looking pale and drowsy.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Ginny said, rubbing her eyes and sitting down at the table.

"We've got a bit of a walk," said Mr. Weasley.

"Walk?" said Hermione. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"

"No, no, that's miles away," said Mr. Weasley, smiling. "We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup-"

"George!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and they all jumped.

"What?" said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.

"What is that in your pocket?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't you lie to me!"

Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, " _Accio!"_

Several small, brightly colored objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand.

"We told you to destroy them!" said Mrs. Weasley furiously, holding up what were unmistakably Ton-Tongue Toffees. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"

It was an unpleasant scene; the twins had evidently been trying to smuggle as many toffees out of the house as possible, and it was only by using her Summoning Charm that Mrs. Weasley managed to find them all.

" _Accio! Accio! Accio!"_ she shouted, and toffees zoomed from all sort of unlikely places, including the lining of George's jacket and the turn-ups of Fred's jeans.

"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted at his mother as she threw the toffees away.

"Oh a fine way to spend six months!" she shrieked. "No wonder you didn't get more O.W.L.s!"

All in all, the atmosphere was not very friendly as they took their departure. Mrs. Weasley was still glowering as she kissed Mr. Weasley on the cheek, though not nearly as much as the twins, who had each hoisted their rucksacks onto their backs and walked out without a word to her.

"I am so disappointed in you, Mrs. Weasley," Rose said, her voice ringing with anger. "I expected you to be able to support them."

She rushed out of the house after Fred and George.

It was chilly and the moon was still out. Only a dull, greenish tinge along the horizon to their right showed that daybreak was drawing closer. Rose started lagging behind the twins not long after everyone else had caught up and her yawns showed everyone exactly why. Fred handed his rucksack to George and coaxed Rose onto his back.

They trudged down the dark, dank lane toward the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village, its inky blackness diluting to deepest blue. Rose's hands were freezing, but Fred's body heat kept her fairly warm.

Fred and George quickly switched what they were holding at the base of Stoatshead Hill, Fred in front of George so he could take the fall over any hidden rabbit holes instead of George and Rose. Each breath George took was sharp and Rose quietly whispered to him, using their close proximity to tell him about what she had said to his mother and how much she loved him. She knew that this was how George needed to be comforted, but Fred had already been comforted by simply holding her and feeling needed.

At last, they were on level ground.

"Whew," panted Mr. Weasley, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. "Well, we've made good time - we've got ten minutes…"

Hermione came over the crest of the hill last, clutching a stitch in her side. Rose squirmed until George let her out of his arms.

"Now we just need the Portkey," said Mr. Weasley, replacing his glasses and squinting around at the ground. "It won't be big…. Come on…"

They spread out, searching. They had only been at it for a couple of minutes, however, when a shout rent the still air.

"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"

Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.  
"Amos!" said Mr. Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them followed.

Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his other hand.

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr. Weasley. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"

Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen. He was Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff House Quidditch team at Hogwarts.

"Hi," said Cedric, looking around at them all.

Everyone said hi back except Fred and George, who merely nodded. They were still slightly jealous about Rose thinking that Cedric was 'nice to look at on occasion.'

"Long walk, Arthur?" Cedric's father asked.

"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"

"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still… not complaining… Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons - and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy…." Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around at the three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione, Rose, and Ginny. "All these yours, Arthur?"

"Oh no, only four of the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. "This is Hermione, friend of Ron's - and Harry, another friend-"

"Merlin's beard," said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry _Potter_?"

"And Rose!" Harry said immediately, throwing his twin under the bus. "She's interested in working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures! You two should talk!"

The glare Rose was leveling at Harry did nothing to deter Amos Diggory, "Ahh, it's hard work! So many creatures, too little wizards! Perhaps having a bright young mind would help us!" he mistook Rose's wide eyes for shock that he knew she was intelligent when in actuality she was terrified about the _idea_ of regulating magical creatures. "Don't try to be modest Miss Potter, Ced's told me about you! He mentioned that you were, and these are his words, 'rather pretty and smart too,' but you and I both know how much of an understatement that must be! You and my Ced would be a great match!"

Rose couldn't think of a reply to this so she stayed silent although she could feel the aggression rolling off of the twins in waves. They were both scowling again. Cedric looked slightly embarrassed.

"I also said she was with the Weasley twins dad," he muttered. "I told you… I don't think of her like that."

"Not _yet_ you don't! You'll see, you're meant to be!"

"Must be nearly time," said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again. "Do you know whether we're waiting for anymore, Amos?"  
"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets," said Mr. Diggory. "There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?"

"Not that I know of," said Mr. Weasley. "Yes, it's a minute off…. We'd better get ready…."

He looked at Hermione.

"You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do-"

With difficulty, owing to their bulky backpacks, the 10 of them crowded around the old book held out by Amos Diggory.

They all stood there, in a tight circle, as a chilly breeze swept over the hilltop. Nobody spoke. It suddenly occurred to Rose how odd this would look if a Muggle were to walk up here now… ten people, two of them grown men, clutching this manky old book in the semidarkness, waiting….

"Three…" muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch, "two… one…"

It happened immediately; Rose felt as though a hook just behind her navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forward. Her feet left the ground; she could feel Fred and George on either side of her, their shoulders banging into hers; they were all speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling color; her forefinger was stuck to the boot as though it was pulling him magnetically onward and then -

Her feet slammed into the ground; she staggered into George and they fell over; the Portkey hit the ground near her head with a heavy thud.

Rose looked up from her place on top of George. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric were still standing, though looking very windswept; everybody else was on the ground.

"While I love you being on top of me, Rose, I don't think this is the time nor place," George said with a small laugh as Rose jumped off of him.

"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill," said a voice.


	4. Chapter 4

Rose stayed on the ground until the twins had rushed to their feet to help her get up, just moments before Cedric Diggory was able to offer his assistance. They had arrived on what appeared to be a deserted stretch of misty moor. In front of them was a pair of tired and grumpy-looking wizards, one of whom was holding a large gold watch, the other a thick roll of parchment and a quill. Both were dressed as Muggles, though very inexpertly: the man with the watch wore a tweed suit with thigh-length galoshes; his colleague, a kilt and a poncho.

"Morning, Basil," said Mr. Weasley, picking up the boot and handing it to the kilted wizard, who threw it into a large box of used Portkeys beside him; Rose could see an old newspaper, an empty drinks can, and a punctured football.

"Hello there, Arthur," said Basil wearily. "Not on duty, eh? It's all right for some…. We've been here all night…. You'd better get out of the way, we've got a big party coming in from the Black Forest at five-fifteen. Hang on, I'll find your campsite…. Weasley… Weasley…" He consulted his parchment list. "About a quarter of a mile's walk over there, the first field you come to. Site manager's called Mr. Roberts. Diggory… second field… ask for Mr. Payne."

"Thanks, Basil," said Mr. Weasley, and he beckoned everyone to follow him.

"We don't have to carry you still, do we?" Fred and George asked, casting her furtive glances.

"No, I should be fine now thanks to your loving care," Rose said with a giggle as they set off across the deserted moor, happily noting that the twins proudly puffed up at her comment.

After about twenty minutes of traveling through mist, a small stone cottage next to a gate swam into view. Beyond it, Rose could just make out the ghostly shapes of hundred and hundreds of tents, rising up the gentle slope of a large field toward a dark wood on the horizon. They said goodbye to the Diggorys and approached the cottage door.

A man was standing in the doorway, looking out at the tents. Rose knew at a glance that this was the only real Muggle for several acres. When he heard their footsteps, he turned his head to look at them.

"Morning!" said Mr. Weasley brightly.

"Morning," said the Muggle.

"Would you be Mr. Roberts?"

"Aye, I would," said Mr. Roberts. "And who're you?"

"Weasley - two tents, booked a couple of days ago?"

"Aye," said Mr. Roberts, consulting a list tacked to the door. "You've got a space up by the wood there. Just the one night?"

"That's it," said Mr. Weasley.

"You'll be paying now then?" said Mr. Roberts.

"Ah - right - certainly -" said Mr. Weasley. He retreated a short distance from the cottage and beckoned Harry toward him. Rose noticed them consulting over the pounds and shook her head as they made their way back over.

"You foreign?" said Mr. Roberts as Mr. Weasley returned.

"Foreign?" repeated Mr. Weasley, puzzled.

"You're not the first one who's had trouble with money," said Mr. Roberts, scrutinizing Mr. Weasley closely. "I had two try and pay me with great gold coins the size of hubcaps ten minutes ago."

Rose knew that this was a drastic time so she took over for Mr. Weasley, "How absurd! Don't they know how precious gold is? And besides, that's no compensation for money, they could have over or underpaid you!"

Mr. Roberts seemed to appreciate Rose more than he appreciated Mr. Weasley and he smiled lightly as he dug around in a tin for some change.

"You know, it's never been this crowded. Hundreds of pre-bookings. People usually just turn up…"

"Is that right?" said Mr. Weasley, his hand held out for his change.

"Aye," he said thoughtfully as he put Mr. Weasley's change in his hand. "People from all over. Loads of foreigners. And weirdos too," his eyes suddenly turned sharp. "You best be looking over these girls, there was a bloke walking 'round in a kilt and a poncho."

"We'll be safe with him, Mr. Roberts, we assure you," Hermione said, having realized with Rose's interjection that Mr. Weasley was rubbish at actually interacting with Muggles.

Mr. Roberts grunted his approval and handed Mr. Weasley a map, "A map of the campsite for you."

"Thank you very much," said Mr. Weasley.

They trudged up the misty field between long rows of tents. Most looked almost ordinary; their owners had clearly tried to make them as Muggle-like as possible but had slipped up by adding chimneys, or bellpulls, or weather vanes. However, here and there was a tent so obviously magical that Rose would hardly be surprised if Mr. Roberts had to be thoroughly Obliviated frequently. Halfway up the field stood an extravagant confection of striped silk like a miniature palace, with several live peacocks tethered at the entrance. A little farther on they passed a tent that had three floors and several turrets; and a short way beyond that was a tent that had a front garden attached, complete with a birdbath, sundial, and fountain.

"Always the same," said Mr. Weasley, smiling. "We can't resist showing off when we get together. Ah, here we are, look, this is us."

"They had reached the very edge of the wood at the top of the field, and here was an empty space, with a small sign hammered into the ground that ready **WEEZLY.**

"Couldn't have a better spot!" said Mr. Weasley happily. "The field is just on the other side of the wood there, we're as close as we could be." He hoisted his backpack from his shoulders as Rose found the **BLACK** tent not that far away. "Right," Mr. Weasley said excitedly, "no magic allowed, strictly speaking, not when we're out in these numbers on Muggle land. We'll be putting these tents up by hand! Shouldn't be too difficult…. Muggles do it all the time…. Here, Harry, where do you reckon we should start?"

Harry and Rose snorted, "I'll take the smaller tent, "Rose said with a roll of her eyes. "You try to figure out how to do the big one before I finish."

Rose got Fred and George to help her set the tent up, just demonstrating to them how it worked before they started working like a well-oiled machine. They erected the tent before the other one was set up, but soon the bigger tent was erected too. All of them stood back to admire their handiwork. Nobody looking at these tents would guess they belonged to wizards, Rose thought. Hermione sent Rose a quizzical look that she didn't quite understand as Mr. Weasley dropped to his hands and knees and entered the first tent.

"We'll be a bit cramped," he called, "but I think we'll all squeeze in. Come and have a look."

Rose hummed and waited until Hermione went into the tent before following her in.  
"We'll need water…" Mr. Weasley said as he peered into a dusty kettle.

"There's a tap marked on this map the Muggle gave us," said Ron. "It's on the other side of the field."

"Well, why don't you, Harry, and Hermione go get us some water then" - Mr. Weasley handed over the kettle and a couple of saucepans - "and the rest of us will get some wood for a fire?"

"But we've got an oven," said Ron. "Why can't we just -"

"Ron, anti- Muggle security!" said Mr. Weasley, his face shining with anticipation. "When real Muggles camp, they cook on fires outdoors. I've seen them at it!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly left, and rose blinked slowly for a moment, her brain in high gear. The twins recognized her mischevious expression and backed away from her, but she hadn't been thinking about a prank.

"Mr. Weasley," Rose said, her eyes wide and upset.

"Yes, Rose?"

"I really didn't want to mention it," her eyes were glittering, whether with mischief or with tears was yet to be seen. "But Ginny and I are being visited by the Red Fairy right now and I don't think we can really help collect sticks…"

Ginny immediately caught on, even if the men didn't, "Yeah, flying the Japanese Flag takes a lot out of you."

All three men paled dramatically, "Why don't you two wait here for us then and we'll collect sticks? Then you can help us build the fire."

Rose and Ginny nodded, doing their best to look miserable. Mr. Weasley hurried out of the tent, but Fred and George stayed.

"Shouldn't you be going to collect sticks?" Rose wondered.

They both rolled their eyes, "Yes. But-"

"-you seem to have-"

"-forgotten just who you-"

"-were lying to."

Rose blinked, "No, I don't think I did. How do you know I'm lying?"

"For one you just confirmed it."

"For two we _all_ know you're not due for eight more days."

The boys both winked at the wide-eyed girls and got out of the tent. Ginny stared at Rose in horror, "They know when your time of the month is?!"

"I don't know how!" Rose defended herself.

"Have you lot been-"  
"NO! Ginny, please don't start this conversation! I'm still reeling over the fact my boyfriends know when my period is due and half the time I don't even know!"

The girls just stared at each other before laughing at the absurdity of the situation. There was _no_ way the twins knew when Rose's period was due to start; it was impossible.

Eventually, Mr. Weasley, George, and Fred returned. Rose helped the twins set up the fire so it would last longer, and then they watched as Mr. Weasley enjoyed playing with the matches.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron finally showed up and George spoke up, "You've been ages."

"Met a few people," said Ron, setting the water down. "You not got that fire started yet?"

"Dad's having fun with the matches," said Fred, his arm wrapped firmly around Rose.

Mr. Weasley was having no success at all in lighting the fire, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Splintered matches littered the ground around him, but he looked as though he was having the time of his life.  
"Oops!" he said as he managed to light a match and promptly dropped it in surprise.

"Come here, Mr. Weasley," said Hermione kindly, taking the box from him, and showing him how to do it properly.

At last, they got the fire lit, though it was at least another hour before it was hot enough to cook anything. There was plenty to watch while they waited, however. Their tent seemed to be pitched right alongside a kind of thoroughfare to the field, and Ministry members kept hurrying up and down it, greeting Mr. Weasley cordially as they passed. Soon Sirius, Remus, and Victoria walked up, Victoria firmly pressed against Sirius's side.

"Hello, you lot!" Sirius said loudly as they walked up.

There was a chorus of hellos and good mornings. Sirius sat Victoria down on a fold up chair that he summoned.

"So, how was the trip?" Remus asked kindly, knowing Sirius and Victoria were going to be 'play fighting' about her not being fragile.

"Rose got carried almost the whole way here," Harry said.

"Thanks, Harry," Rose said with a glare before turning to Remus's questioning gaze. "Well, you know, I'm sort of…"

Ginny jumped in to help her, "Rose and I are PMSing."

Remus blinked slowly, clearly not believing them, "Okay."

Rose blushed slightly, realizing that Remus would be able to smell it if she were actually on her period. He always had before, at least. He would disappear into thin air but she would often find some sort of sweet (always with chocolate) in her room for her.

"I was also really tired," Rose said shyly.

Remus nodded, smiling, "Yeah, that seems about right. I hope it wasn't too hard for you to carry her?"

"No," Fred shook his head, "not at all. It's nice to feel needed."

"He only says it wasn't hard because he didn't carry her up the hill," George grumbled.

"You could have set me down, George, I wouldn't have been upset," Rose said seriously.

"Absolutely not," both of the twins chorused.

At last, the fire was ready, and they had just started cooking eggs and sausages when Bill, Charlie, and Percy came strolling out of the woods toward them.

"Just Apparated, Dad," said Percy loudly. "Ah, excellent, lunch!"

They were halfway through their plates of eggs and sausages when Mr. Weasley jumped to his feet, waving and grinning at a man who was striding toward them. "Aha!" he said. "The man of the moment! Ludo!"

Ludo Bagman was easily the most noticeable person Rose had seen so far, even including an old man in a nightdress. He was wearing long Quidditch robes in thick horizontal stripes of bright yellow and black. An enormous picture of a wasp was splashed across his chest. He had the look of a powerfully built man gone slightly to seed; the robes were stretched tightly across a large belly he surely had not had in the days when he had played Quidditch for England. His nose was squashed (probably broken by a stray Bludger, Harry thought), but his round blue eyes, short blond hair, and rosy complexion made him look like a very overgrown schoolboy.

"Ahoy, there!" Bagman called happily. He was walking as though he had springs attached to the balls of his feet and was plainly in a state of wild excitement.

"Arthur, old man," he puffed as he reached the campfire, "what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming… and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements… Not much for me to do!"

Behind him, a group of haggard-looking Ministry wizards rushed past, pointing at the distant evidence of some sort of magical fire that was sending violet sparks twenty feet into the air.

Percy hurried forward with his hand outstretched. Apparently his disapproval of the way Ludo Bagman ran his department did not prevent him from wanting to make a good impression.

"Ah - yes," said Mr. Weasley, grinning, "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry - and this is Fred - no, George, sorry - _that's_ Fred - Bill, Charlie, Ron - my daughter, Ginny - Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter - Fred and George's girlfriend Rose Potter."

Bagman did the smallest of double takes when he heard Harry's name, and his eyes performed the familiar flick upward to the scar on Rose's forehead.

"Everyone," Mr. Weasley continued, "this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it's thanks to him we've got such good tickets -"

Bagman beamed and waved his hand as if to say it had been nothing.

"Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?" he said eagerly, jingling what seemed to be a large amount of gold in the pockets of his yellow-and-black robes. "I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first - I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years - and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a week-long match."

"Oh… go on then," said Mr. Weasley. "Let's see… a Galleon on Ireland to win?"

"A Galleon?" Ludo Bagman looked slightly disappointed but recovered himself. "Very well, very well… any other takers?"

"They're a bit young to be gambling," said Mr. Weasley. Molly wouldn't like-"

Rose slapped her hands over Fred and George's mouths, knowing the mere mention that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't like it would make them want to do it.

"Mr. Bagman," Rose said, lowering her hands and smiling in a way only Sirius had been partial to. "I believe I have a bet for you."

"Oh? What are you going to bet?" Bagman eagerly rubbed his hands together.

"First, I want a Wizard's oath that you'll pay it as soon as possible if I win," she said with a smirk, causing everyone to gasp and Percy to start turning red with rage.

"Rose, you can't just go about-!"

"Unless of course, Mr. Bagman, you don't think you'd be able to keep this oath?"

Mr. Bagman was now trapped. He couldn't let it be known that he was very nearly broke, but he would have to take out loans in order to pay it back. Rose watched as his face set and he nodded, "I agree."

Rose smirked and turned to the twins, "What were you going to bet?"  
"That Ireland wins but Victor Krum gets the Snitch."

Rose nodded and turned to him, "I bet twenty Galleons that Ireland wins but Victor Krum gets the Snitch."

Mr. Bagman nodded confidently, "I swear on my magic that if Ireland wins but Victor Krum gets the Snitch I will pay Rose Potter twenty Galleons as soon as possible."

There was a flash of light and then Mr. Bagman was writing down Rose's name and the amount and handing her a piece of paper.

"Cheers," said Rose with a smirk as she took the slip of parchment.

"Couldn't do me a brew, I suppose? I'm keeping an eye out for Barty Crouch. My Bulgarian opposite number's making difficulties, and I can't understand a word he's saying. Barty'll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages.

"Mr. Crouch?" said Percy, suddenly abandoning his look of poker-stiff disapproval and positively writhing with excitement. "He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll…"

"Anyone can speak Troll," said Fred dismissively. "All you have to do is point and grunt."

Percy threw Fred an extremely nasty look and stoked the fire vigorously to bring the kettle back to boil.

"Any news of Bertha Jorkins yet, Ludo?" Mr. Weasley asked as Bagman settled himself down on the grass beside them all.

"Not a dicky bird," said Bagman comfortably. "But she'll turn up. Poor old Bertha… memory like a leaky cauldron and no sense of direction. Lost, you can take my word for it. She'll wander back into the office sometime in October, thinking it's still July."

"You don't think it might be time to send someone to look for her?" Mr. Weasley suggested tentatively as Percy handed Bagman his tea.

"Barty Crouch keeps saying that," said Bagman, his round eyes widening innocently, "but we really can't spare anyone at the moment. Oh - talk of the devil! Barty!"

A wizard had just Apparated at their fireside, and he could not have made more of a contrast with Ludo Bagman, sprawled on the grass in his old Wasp robes. Barty Crouch was a stiff, upright, elderly man, dressed in an impeccably crisp suit and tie. The parting in his short gray hair was almost unnaturally straight, and his narrow toothbrush mustache looked as though he trimmed it using a slide rule. His shoes were very highly polished. Rose could see at once why Percy idolized him. Percy was a great believer in rigidly following rules, and Mr. Crouch had complied with the rule about Muggle dressing so thoroughly that he could have passed for a bank manager.

"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty," said Ludo brightly, patting the ground beside him.

"No thank you, Ludo," said Crouch, and there was a bite of impatience in his voice. "I've been looking for you everywhere. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box."

"Oh is _that_ what they're after?" said Bagman. I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent."

"Mr. Crouch!" said Percy breathlessly, sunk into a kind of half-bow that made him look like a hunchback. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Oh," said Mr. Crouch, looking over at Percy in mild surprise. "Yes - thank you, Weatherby."

Rose, George, and Fred choked into their own cups. Percy, very pink around the ears, busied himself with the kettle.

"Oh and I've been wanting a word with you too, Arthur," said Mr. Crouch, his sharp eyes falling upon Mr. Weasley. "Ali Bashir's on the warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets."

Mr. Weasley heaved a deep sigh.

"I sent him an owl about that just last week. If I've told him once I've told him a hundred times; Carpets are defined as Muggle Artifacts by the Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, but will he listen?"

"I doubt it," said Mr. Crouch, accepting a cup from Percy. "He's desperate to export here."

"Well, they'll never replace brooms in Britain, will they?" said Bagman.

"Ali thinks there's a niche in the market for a family vehicle," said Mr. Crouch. "I remember my grandfather had an Axminster that could seat twelve - but that was before carpets were banned, of course."

He spoke as though he wanted to leave nobody in any doubt that all his ancestors had abided strictly by the law.

"So, been keeping busy, Barty?" said Sirius breezily.

"Fairly," said Mr. Crouch dryly. "Organizing Portkeys across five continents is no mean feat, Black."

"I expect you both will be glad when this is over?" asked Mr. Weasley, referring to Bagman and Crouch.

Ludo Bagman looked shocked.

"Glad! Don't know when I've had more fun…. Still, it's not as though we haven't got anything to look forward to, eh, Barty? Eh? Plenty left to organize, eh?"

Mr. Crouch raised his eyebrows at Bagman.

"We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details-"

"Oh, details!" said Bagman, waving the word away like a cloud of midges. "They've all signed, haven't they? They've agreed, haven't they? I bet you anything these kids'll know soon enough anyway. I mean, it's happening at Hogwarts-"

"Ludo, we need to meet the Bulgarians, you know," said Mr. Crouch sharply, cutting Bagman's remarks short. "Thank you for the tea, Weatherby."

He pushed his undrunk tea back at Percy and waited for Ludo to rise; Bagman struggled to his feet, swigging down the last of his tea, the gold in his pockets clinking merrily.

"See you all later!" he said. "You'll be up in the Top Box with me - I'm commentating!" He waved, Barty Crouch nodded curtly, and both of them Disapparated.  
"What's happening at Hogwarts, Dad?" said Fred at once. "What were they talking about?"

"You'll find out soon enough," said Mr. Weasley, smiling.

"It's classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to release it," said Percy stiffly. "Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it."

"Oh, shut up, Weatherby," said Fred.

A sense of excitement rose like a palpable cloud over the campsite as the afternoon wore on. By dusk, the still summer air itself seemed to be quivering with anticipation, and as darkness spread like a curtain over the thousands of waiting wizards, the last vestiges of pretense disappeared: the Ministry seemed to have bowed to the inevitable and stopped fighting the signs of blatant magic now breaking out everywhere.

Salesmen were Apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts full of extraordinary merchandise. There were luminous rosettes - green for Ireland, red for Bulgaria - which squealed the names of the players, pointed green hats bedecked with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves adorned with lions that really roared, flags from both countries that played their national anthems as they were waved; there were tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, and collectible figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves.

Rose held her hand out to Sirius, who promptly dropped a rather heavy money bag into her hand. She eagerly led the twins through the salesmen. They all got green rosettes, and they each got a pair of Omnioculars. They got Programs, and Fred and George insisted on getting Rose a green scarf, saying that it made her hair pop and that all the green for Ireland was important.

Their money bags considerably lighter, they went back to the tents. Everyone else was toting Irish gear too.

And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed into life in the trees, lighting a path to the field.

"It's time!" said Mr. Weasley, looking as excited as any of them. "Come on, let's go!"


	5. Chapter 5

Clutching their purchases, Mr. Weasley in the lead, they all hurried into the wood, following the lantern-lit trail. They could hear the sounds of thousands of people moving around them, shouts and laughter, snatches of singing. The atmosphere of feverish excitement was highly infectious; Rose couldn't stop grinning. They walked through the wood for twenty minutes, talking and joking loudly, until at last they emerged on the other side and found themselves in the shadow of a gigantic stadium. Though Rose could see only a fraction of the immense gold walls surrounding the field, she could tell that ten cathedrals would fit comfortably inside it.

"Seats a hundred thousand," said Remus, spotting the awestruck look on Rose's face.

"Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Every time Muggles have got anywhere near here all year, they've suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again," Sirius said his arm around Victoria.

Mr. Weasley lead the way toward the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by a swarm of shouting witches and wizard.

"Prime seats!" said the Ministry witch at the entrance when she checked their tickets. "Top Box! Straight upstairs, and as high as you can go."

The stairs into the stadium were carpeted in rich purple. They clambered upward with the rest of the crowd, which slowly filtered away through doors into the stands to their left and right. They kept climbing, and at last they reached the top of the staircase and found themselves in a small box, set at the highest point of the stadium and situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts. About twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in two rows here, and Rose, filing into the front seats with the Weasleys, looked down upon a scene the likes of which she could have never imagined.

A hundred thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats, which rose in levels around the long oval field. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light, which seemed to come from the stadium itself. The field looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position. At either end of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them, almost at Rose's eye level, was a gigantic blackboard. Gold writing kept dashing across it as though an invisible giant's hand were scrawling upon the blackboard and then wiping it off again.

Rose tore her eyes away from the sign and looked over her shoulder to see who else was sharing the box with them. So far it was empty, except for a house elf. Its legs were so short they stuck out in front of it on the chair and was wearing a tea-towel draped like a toga, with its face hidden in its hands.

Rose ignored it, knowing that it was terrified of heights by its posture, and turned happily to Fred and George, who for once weren't flanking her, "This is going to be great!"

"We're just glad you agreed to come too," they said earnestly.

Rose blushed, "So on the way up here I was reading the program-"

"How do you read and walk at the same time?" Fred asked curiously while George's face was awed.

"It's not as hard as it sounds. Anyways, it says that there's going to be a display from the team mascots."

"Oh that's always worth watching," said Mr. Weasley. "National teams bring creatures from their native land, you know, to put on a bit of a show."

"The Bulgarians are bringing Veela's," Victoria offered helpfully.

Fred and George looked interested at the prospect.

The box filled gradually around them over the next half hour. Mr. Weasley and Sirius (who insisted Victoria _stay seated_ ) kept shaking hands with people who were obviously very important wizards. Percy jumped to his feet so often that he looked as though he were trying to sit on a hedgehog. When Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself, arrived, Percy bowed so low that his glasses fell off and shattered. Highly embarrassed, he repaired the with his wand and thereafter remained in his seat, throwing jealous looks at Harry and Rose, whom Cornelius Fudge had greeted like old friends. They had never met before, but Rose would never say no to influential acquaintances. Fudge shook Harry's hand in a fatherly fashion, asked him how he was, then kissed the back of Rose's hand and asked her how she was before he introduced them to the wizards on either side of him.

"Harry and Rose Potter, you know," he told the Bulgarian minister loudly, who was wearing splendid robes of black velvet trimmed with gold and didn't seem to understand a word of English. " _Harry and Rose Potter_ … oh come on now, you know who they are… the boy and girl who survived You-Know-Who… you _do_ know who they are-"

The Bulgarian wizard suddenly spotted Harry's scar and started talking loudly and sarcastically while pointing at it, "Wow! It's the boy who lived and his twin sister! It's almost like they're important in this country or something!"

Rose laughed sharply, "Yes, it would appear that we are important."

"You can speak Bulgarian?" Fudge and the Minister asked in shock.

Rose blinked in confusion before her eyes lit with understanding, "I speak all languages I guess. It's a spell curse breakers use a lot."

They nodded thoughtfully before Cornelius turned around, "Ah, and here's Lucius!"

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Rose, and the twins turned quickly. Edging along the second row to three still-empty seats right behind Mr. Weasley, Sirius, and Victoria was none other than the Malfoys. Draco, Narcissa, and Lucius.

Draco and Rose's eyes met and Rose felt a fresh jolt of pain. Of course he would be here. He loved Quidditch, didn't he? For the first time since getting here, she was seriously regretting coming to the World Cup.

"Ah, Fudge," said Mr. Malfoy, holding out his hand as he reached the Minister of Magic. "How are you? I don't think you've met my wife, Narcissa? Or our son, Draco?"

Rose turned around, not willing to see Draco act like something he wasn't, but she kept listening.

"How do you do, how do you do?" said Fudge. "And allow me to introduce you to Mr. Oblansk - Obalonsk - Mr. - well, he's the Bulgarian Minister of Magic, and he can't understand a word I'm saying anyway, so never mind. And let's see who else - you know Arthur Weasley, I daresay?"

It was a tense moment. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy had started a brawl in Flourish and Blotts the last time they had come face-to-face, and Rose couldn't help but wish it would happen again, but perhaps not with Mr. Weasley throwing punches.

"Good lord, Arthur," he said softly. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"

Fudge who wasn't listening, said, "Lucius has just given a _very_ generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Arthur. He's here as my guest."

"And I'm here because I paid," Sirius said and Rose could tell he was grinning so she decided to watch again. He was indeed grinning, a grin that was both humorous and feral.

"Ahh," Fudge said rather shakily. "Black. It's nice to see you here. And I see you've brought your fiancee, Victoria, correct?"

Victoria nodded her head stiffly, "That is my name sir. We've met before, actually, I was part of a _specific_ task force if you'll remember."

Fudge's face turned slightly purple. Lucius Malfoy was sneering as he made it to his seat. Fudge hurried to his seat too as Ludo Bagman charged into the box.

"Everyone ready?" he said, his round face gleaming like a great, excited Edam. "Minister - ready to go?"

"Ready when you are, Ludo," said Fudge comfortably.

Ludo whipped out his wand, directed it at his own throat, and said " _Sonorus!"_ and then spoke over the roar of sound that was now filling the packed stadium; his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen… welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant national anthems to the racket. The huge blackboard opposite them was wiped clear of its last message and now showed **Bulgaria: 0, Ireland: 0**.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce… the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

The right-hand side of the stands, which was a solid block of scarlet, roared its approval.

A hundred veela were now gliding out onto the field. Veela were women… the most beautiful women in the world, except that they weren't human. Their skin was shining moon-bright, their white gold hair fanned out behind them without wind… but then the music started.

The veela had started to dance, and Rose waited for Fred and George to launch from their seats like Harry and Ron had done.

She waited.

And waited.

They didn't move from their seats. The music stopped and she turned to look at them in shock. They were just watching her with love. She blushed and looked down shyly even as angry yells were filling the stadium. The crowd didn't want the veela to go, but Rose could care less. The twins hadn't reacted to the Veela charm! Without thinking, she looked back at Draco to share in the joy she had, and he did look impressed, but his face was closed off and she remembered where they were and turned back around hurriedly. By Victoria's reaction to Sirius at the moment, she would say he hadn't reacted either.

"And now," roared Ludo Bagman's voice, "kindly put your wands in the air… for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

Next moment, what seemed to be a great green-and-gold comet came zooming into the stadium. It did one circuit of the stadium, then split into two smaller comets, each hurtling toward the goal posts. A rainbow arced suddenly across the field, connecting the two balls of light. The crowd oohed and aahed, as though at a fireworks display. Now the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to soar over the stands. Something like golden rain seemed to be falling from it -

"Woah!" the twins yelled as the shamrock soared over them, and heavy gold coins rained from it, bouncing off their heads and seats. Squinting up at the shamrock, Rose realized that it was actually comprised of thousands of tiny, bearded men with red vests, each carrying a minute lamp of gold or green.

"Leprechauns!" said Mr. Weasley over the tumultuous applause of the crowd, many of whom were still fighting or rummaging around under their chairs to retrieve the gold, but Rose had stopped the twins from doing the same.

"Leprechaun gold, it'll disappear soon."

The twins nodded and the great shamrock dissolved, the leprechauns drifted down onto the field on the opposite side from the veela, and settled themselves cross-legged to watch the match.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome - the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you - Dimitrov!"

A scarlet-clad figure on a broomstick, moving so fast it was blurred, shot out onto the field from an entrance far below, to wild applause from the Bulgarian supporters.

"Ivanova!"

A second scarlet-robed player zoomed out.

"Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaaand - _Krum_!"

Rose watched through the Omnioculars and studied Krum. Viktor Krum was thin, dark, and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He looked like an overgrown bird of prey. It was hard to believe he was only eighteen.

"And now, please greet - the Irish National Quidditch Team!" yelled Bagman. "Presenting - Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaaand - _Lynch_!"

Seven green blurs swept onto the field.

"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"

A small and skinny wizard, completely bald but for a mustache, wearing robes of pure gold to match the stadium, strode out onto the field. A silver whistle was protruding from under the mustache, and he was carrying a large wooden crate under one arm, his broomstick under the other. Rose watched as Mostafa mounted his broomstick and kicked the crate open- four balls burst into the air; the scarlet Quaffle, the two black Bludgers, and the minuscule, winged Golden Snitch. With a sharp blast on his whistle, Mostafa shot into the air after the balls.

"Theeeeeeeey're OFF!" screamed Bagman. "And it's Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet! Troy! Levski! Moran!"

It was Quidditch as Rose had never seen it played before. The speed of the players was incredible - the Chasers were throwing the Quaffle to one another so fast that Bagman only had time to say their names. Rose looked away for meet seconds when Bagman roared, "TROY SCORES!" and the stadium shuddered with a roar of applause and cheers. "Ten zero to Ireland!"

The leprechauns watching from the sidelines had all risen into the air again and formed the great, glittering shamrock. Across the field, the veela were watching them silkily.

Rose knew enough about Quidditch to see that the Irish Chasers were superb. They worked as a seamless team, their movements so well coordinated that they appeared to be reading one another's minds as they positioned themselves, and the rosette on Rose's chest kept squeaking their names: " _Troy - Mullet - Moran!"_ and within ten minutes, Ireland had scored twice more, bringing their lead to thirty- zero and causing a thunderous tide of roars and applause from the green-clad supporters.

The match became still faster, but more brutal. Volkov and Vulchanov, the Bulgarian Beaters, were whacking the Bludgers as fiercely as possible at the Irish Chasers, and were starting to prevent them from using some of their best moves; twice they were forced to scatter, and then, finally, Ivanova managed to break through their ranks; dodge the Keeper, Ryan; and score Bulgaria's first goal.

"Fingers in your ears!" bellowed Mr. Weasley to Harry and Ron as the veela started to dance in celebration. Rose leaned over to kiss Fred's shoulder, who was sitting next to her, and by the time she was looking at the field again Bulgaria was again in possession of the Quaffle.

"Dimitrov! Levski! Dimitrov! Ivanova - oh I say!" roared Bagman.

One hundred thousand wizards gasped as the two Seekers, Krum and Lynch, plummeted through the center of the Chasers, so fast that it looked as though they had just jumped from airplanes without parachutes. Rose followed their descent through her Omnioculars, squinting to see where the Snitch was-  
"They're going to crash!" screamed Hermione.

She was half right - at the very last second, Viktor Krum pulled out of the dive and spiraled off. Lynch, however, hit the ground with a dull thud that could be heard throughout the stadium. A huge groan rose from the Irish seats.

"Fool!" moaned Mr. Weasley. "Krum was feinting!"

"It's time-out!" yelled Bagman's voice, "As trained mediwizards hurry onto the field to examine Aidan Lynch!"

"He'll be okay, he only got plowed!" Charlie said reassuringly to Ginny, who was hanging over the side of the box, looking horror-struck. "Which is what Krum was after, of course…"

Krum was now circling high above Lynch, who was being revived by mediwizards with cups of potion. Rose, focusing still more closely upon Krum's face, saw his dark eyes darting all over the ground a hundred feet below. He was using the time while Lynch was revived to look for the Snitch without interference.

Lynch got to his feet at last, to loud cheers from the green-clad supporters, mounting his Firebolt, and kicked back off into the air. His revival seemed to give Ireland new heart. When Mostafa blew his whistle again, the Chasers moved into action with skill unrivaled by anything Harry had seen so far.

After fifteen more fast and furious minutes, Ireland had pulled ahead by ten more goals. They were now leading by one hundred and thirty points to ten, and then the game was starting to get dirtier.

As Mullet shot toward the goalposts yet again, clutching the Quaffle tightly under her arm, the Bulgarian Keeper, Zograf, flew out to meet her. Whatever happened was over so quickly Rose didn't catch it, but a scream of rage from the Irish crowd, and Mostafa's long, shrill whistle blast, told her it had been a foul.

"And Mostafa takes the Bulgarian Keeper to task for cobbing - excessive use of elbows!" Bagman informed the roaring spectators. "And - yes, it's a penalty to Ireland!"

The leprechauns, who had risen angrily into the air like a swarm of glittering hornets when Mullet had been fouled, now darted together to form the words "HA, HA, HA!" The veela on the other side of the field leapt to their feet, tossed their hair angrily, and started to dance again.

Rose started laughing loudly at the referee who had landed right in front of the dancing veela and was acting very oddly. He was flexing his muscles and smoothing his mustache excitedly.

"Now, we can't have that!" said Ludo Bagman, though he sounded highly amused. "Somebody slap the referee!"

A mediwizard came tearing across the field, his fingers stuffed into his own eats, and kicked Mostafa hard in the shins. Mostafa seemed to come to himself; Rose, watching through the Omnioculars again, saw that he looked exceptionally embarrassed and had started shouting at the veela, who had stopped dancing and were looking mutinous.

"And unless I'm much mistaken, Mostafa is actually attempting to send off the Bulgarian team mascots!" said Bagman's voice. "Now _there's_ something we haven't seen before…. Oh, this could turn nasty…."

It did: the Bulgarian Beaters, Volkov and Vulchanov, landed on either side of Mostafa and began arguing furiously with him, gesticulating toward the leprechauns, who had now gleefully formed the words "HEE, HEE, HEE." Mostafa was no impressed by the Bulgarians' arguments, however; he was jabbing his finger into the air, clearly telling them to get flying again, and when they refused, he gave two short blasts on his whistle.

" _Two_ penalties for Ireland!" shouted Bagman, and the Bulgarian crowd howled with anger. "And Volkov and Vulchanov had better get back on those brooms… yes… there they go… and Troy takes the Quaffle…"

Play now reached a level of ferocity beyond anything they had yet seen. The Beaters on both sides were acting without mercy: Volkov and Vulchanov, in particular, seemed not to care whether their clubs made contact with Bludger of human as they swung them violently through the air. Dimitrov shot straight at Moran, who had the Quaffle, nearly knocking her off her broom.

" _Foul!"_ roared the Irish supporters as one, all standing up in a great wave of green.

"Foul!" echoed Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice. "Dimitrov skins Moran - deliberately flying to collide there - and it's got to be another penalty - yes, there's the whistle!"

The leprechauns had risen into the air again, and this time, they formed a giant hand, which made a very rude sign indeed at the veela across the field. At this, the veela lost control. Instead of dancing, they launched themselves across the field and began throwing what seemed to be handfuls of fire at the leprechauns. Watching through her Omnioculars, Rose saw that they didn't look remotely beautiful now. On the contrary, their faces were elongating into sharp, cruel-beaked bird heads, and long, scaly wings were bursting from their shoulders -

"And _that_ , boys," yelled Mr. Weasley over the tumult of the crowd below, "is why you should never go for looks alone!"

"But they certainly help!" said George, just barely loud enough for Rose to hear.

Her face was red as she watched Ministry wizards flood into the field to separate the veela and the leprechauns, but with little success; meanwhile the pitched battle below was nothing to the one taking place above. Rose turned this way and that, staring through her Omnioculars, as the Quaffle changed hands with the speed of a bullet.

"Levski - Dimitrov - Moran - Troy - Mullet - Ivanova - Moran again - Moran - MORAN SCORES!"

But the cheers of the Irish supporters were barely heard over the shrieks of the veela, the blasts now issuing from the Ministry member's wands, and the furious roars of the Bulgarians. The game recommenced immediately; now Levski had the Quaffle, now Dimitrov -

The Irish Beater Quigley swung heavily at a passing Bludger and hit it as hard as possible toward Krum, who did not duck quickly enough. It hit him full in the face.

There was a deafening groan from the crowd; Krum's nose looked broken, there was blood everywhere, but Hassan Mostafa didn't blow his whistle. He had become distracted, and Rose couldn't blame him; one of the veela had thrown a handful of fire and set his broom tail alight.

Rose felt bad for Krum, but she knew he could play injured. He had proven as much numerous times.

" _Look at Lynch!"_ Harry yelled.

The Irish Seeker had suddenly gone into a dive, and Rose was quite sure that this was no Wronski Feint; this was the real thing….

"He's seen the Snitch!" Harry shouted. "He's seen it! Look at him go!"

Half the crowd seemed to have realized what was happening; the Irish supporters rose in another great wave of green, screaming their Seeker on… but Krum was on his tail. How he could see where he was going, Rose had no idea; there were flecks of blood flying through the air behind him, but he was drawing level with Lynch now as the pair of them hurtled toward the ground again -

"They're going to crash!" shrieked Hermione.

"They're not!" roared Ron.

"Lynch is!" yelled Rose.

And she was right - for the second time, Lynch hit the ground with tremendous force and was immediately stampeded by a horde of angry veela.

"The Snitch, where's the Snitch?" bellowed Charlie, along the row.

"He's got it - Krum's got it - It's all over!" shouted Harry.

Krum, his red robes shining with blood from his nose, was rising gently into the air, his fist held high, a glint of gold in his hand.

The scoreboard was flashing **Bulgaria: 160, Ireland: 170** across the crowd, who didn't seem to have realized what happened. Then, slowly, as though a great jumbo jet were revving up, the rumbling from the Ireland supporters grew louder and louder and erupted into screams of delight.

"IRELAND WINS!" Bagman shouted, who like the Irish, seemed to be taken aback by the sudden end of the match. "KRUM GETS THE SNITCH - BUT IRELAND WINS- good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that!"

"Make bets get paid!" Rose yelled as she launched herself at the twins who were whooping and jumping up and down happily.

They were laughing and hugging her tightly, "We were right, we were right!"

"Vell, ve fought bravely," said a gloomy voice behind Rose. She looked around; it was the Bulgarian Minister of Magic.

"You can speak English!" said Fudge, sounding outraged. "And you've been letting me mine everything all day!"

"Vell, it vos very funny," said the Bulgarian minister, shrugging.  
"And as the Irish team performs a lap of honor, flanked by their mascots, the Quidditch World Cup itself is brought into the Top Box!" roared Bagman.

Rose's eyes were suddenly dazzled by a blinding white light, as the Top Box was magically illuminated so that everyone in the stands could see the inside. Squinting toward the entrance, she saw two panting wizards carrying a vast golden cup into the box, which they handed to Cornelius Fudge, who was still looking very disgruntled that he'd been using sign language all day for nothing.

"Let's have a really loud hand for the gallant losers - Bulgaria!" Bagman shouted.

And up the stairs into the box came the seven defeated Bulgarian players. The crowd below was applauding appreciatively; Rose could see thousands and thousands of Omniocular lenses flashing and winking in their direction.

One by one, the Bulgarians filed between the rows of seats in the box, and Bagman called out the name of each as they shook hands with their own minister and then with Fudge. Krum, who was last in line, looked a real mess. Two black eyes were blooming spectacularly on his bloody face. He was still holding the Snitch. Rose noticed that he seemed much less coordinated on the ground. He was slightly duck-footed and distinctly round-shouldered. But when Krum's name was announced, the whole stadium gave him a resounding, earsplitting roar.

And then came the Irish team. Aidan Lynch was being supported by Moran and Connolly; the second crash seemed to have dazed him and his eyes looked strangely unfocused. But he grinned happily as Troy and Quigley lifted the Cup into the air and the crowd below thundered its approval. Rose's hands were numb with clapping.

At last, when the Irish team had left the box to perform another lap of honor on their brooms (Aidan Lynch on the back of Connolly's, clutching hard around his waist and still grinning in a bemused sort of way), Bagman pointed his wand at his throat and muttered, " _Quietus."_

"They'll be talking about this one for years," he said hoarsely, "a really unexpected twist, that…. Shame it couldn't have lasted longer…. Ah yes… yes, I owe you… how much?"

"Twenty Galleons," Rose said with a broad smile.

He handed the money over, and Rose noted that much of it was actually in Sickles and Knuts. She nodded thankfully then turned to the twins and plopped the money into their hands, "For your future," she said with a wink before they all started making their way down the purple-carpeted stairs.


	6. Chapter 6

"Really, Rose, we don't want your money," George protested yet again. They were caught up in the crowds now flooding out of the stadium and back to their campsites. Raucous singing was borne toward them on the night air as they retraced their steps along the lantern-lit path, and leprechauns kept shooting over their heads, cackling and waving their lanterns.

"Well, that's fine. You're getting it anyway because I'm investing in you two. Your future will, hopefully, directly affect mine, so it's only fair that I help you."

The big kisses she got in response to that left her breathless and she happily skipped the rest of the way to their tents. Sirius insisted that Harry and Rose stay with their friends for the night, and insisted that they only come bother him if strictly necessary. They made plans to meet at the Burrow the next day.

Nobody felt like sleeping at all, and given the level of noise around them, Mr. Weasley agreed that they could all have one last cup of cocoa together before turning in.

"There's no one like Krum!" Ron gaped at apparently nothing, obviously re-living the man's spectacular catch of the snitch in his mind.  
"Krum?" George raised his eyebrow.  
"He's like a bird the way he rides the wind. He's more than an athlete, he's an artist!"  
"Think you're in love, Ron?" Rose teased.  
The twins burst into song; "Victor I love you, Victor, I do... When we're apart my heart beats only for you!"  
Ron groaned and went to hit the nearest twin, George, who easily dodged him. Soon everyone was arguing enjoyably about the match; Mr. Weasley got drawn into a disagreement about cobbing with Charlie, and it was only when Ginny fell asleep right at the tiny table and spilled her hot chocolate all over the floor that Mr. Weasley called a halt to the verbal replays and insisted that everyone go to bed.

"Well, this is goodbye for tonight, Princess," George said theatrically.

"You may be leaving our sides but you will forever remain in our minds," Fred said with a deep bow and a light kiss on the back of her hand.

"I hope that we will be able to withstand the distance," Rose said, her eyes twinkling as she gave a loud sniff as if she were crying.

"Fear not-"

"-we always-"

"-take care of-"

"-ours."

They both leaned in and gently kissed her cheeks. She giggled and kissed their cheeks in return.

"Good night, boys."

"Good night, Rose."

The girls went into the next tent.

"That was brilliant," Ginny muttered as she climbed into one of the beds.

"Couldn't have been better," Rose agreed as she climbed into the bunk above Ginny's.

"Totally worth the testosterone," Hermione tittered.

"Nothing's worth the testosterone," Ginny and Rose said at the same time as they fell asleep.

"Girls, get up! Come on now, get up, this is urgent!" Mr. Weasley was shouting in their tent which caused Rose to shoot up and out of her bed.

"'S' matter?" she groaned, her body not agreeing with her mind's level of alertness.

She could tell that something was wrong. The noises in the campsite had changed. The singing had stopped. She could hear screams and the sound of people running.

"Just grab a jacket and get outside - all of you- quickly!"

They all rushed outside while pulling coats on, with Mr. Weasley right behind them. Fred and George were immediately flanking Rose. At the same moment, Bill, Charlie, and Percy emerged from the boys' tent, fully dressed, with their sleeves rolled up and their wands out.

Rose noted distantly that Sirius, Victoria, and Remus were charging towards a terrifying group of people, Death Eaters, who had muggles floating above them. She felt sick as she listened to Mr. Weasley.

"We're going to help the Ministry!" Mr. Weasley shouted over all the noise, rolling up his own sleeves. "You lot - get into the woods and _stick together_. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"

Bill, Charlie, and Percy were already sprinting away toward the oncoming marchers; Mr. Weasley tore after them. Ministry wizards were dashing from every direction toward the source of the trouble. The crowd beneath the family was coming ever closer.

"C'mon," said Fred, grabbing Ginny's hand and starting to pull her toward the wood. George did the same thing with Rose with Harry, Ron, and Hermione following. Suddenly there were people all over; children were crying; anxious shouts and panicked voices were reverberating around them in the cold night air. Rose would have been being pushed around like a ragdoll if it weren't for George's vice-like grip on her arm.

"Which way do we go, Fred?" George asked at a fork in the road.  
"I don't know! Ask Harry!" Fred said.

"Harry isn't here!" Rose squeaked.

"Then Rose, you choose," Ginny said. "Maybe you have the same luck as Harry?"

Rose took a deep breath. George's grip on her wasn't loosening, and she thought she might be losing circulation. George looked terrified, as did Fred, but their terror appeared differently than Ginny's, who was clutching Fred's arm so tight his hand was turning purple. The screaming still hadn't stopped, and Rose needed to help them.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath. "Yeah, follow me."

She was then running through the woods with George. Fred and Ginny were hot on their trails.

A red light hit the tree next to George's head. They skidded to a halt as two Death Eater's stepped out of the trees.

"Well, look what we've found," a gruff voice said. "I've always younger women. Then boys can go, though."

The two men laughed and a red light hit George, causing him to fall screaming the whole time. Rose was terrified as she screamed at the men to stop it. She felt something curling inside of her. She could suddenly see better in the darkness of the forest and her hearing was suddenly better, so much so she could hear the heartbeats of the people around her. She growled in the back of her throat as something more sinister, more primal took her over.

Misty the Black Jaguar had joined forces with the presence of Delco's wolf within her. Rose was no longer herself, Rose was no longer in control. She could only watch from the backseat of her mind as she started moving. The real Rose had led them all straight to danger, and the animal Rose was not going to accept that.

' _Not_ _ **my**_ _pack'_ her mind screamed as she charged up to the now terrified Death Eaters. She ignored Fred's frantic yells, she ignored George's groans, and she ignored Ginny's terrified screams. The man who had been hurting George soon found out that the boy he was torturing was protected as Rose clamped her mouth around his wrist, hearing terrifyingly satisfying cracking noises. The man was screaming and trying to get away, she felt the sizzle of spells flying millimeters past her pelt and she was growling low in warning at the other wizard who quickly disappeared with a _pop!_.

She could feel Delco within her with two other unidentified people. Two of the three felt terrified, but Delco felt perfectly fine; one of her pack was safe. The other two weren't. Her claws fully extended and started tearing through the man's clothes and skin, the other man panicking and running. The screaming was starting to stop, but Rose's inner animal took no notice. She wanted the man to _pay_. He had hurt _her_ pack and that was an act that was punishable by death if she so choose.

She did choose.

Or at least she had until a soothing hand rubbed up against her pelt, causing her to involuntarily release the arm that was thoroughly cut and crushed.

The man lay upon the ground under her, unmoving. Blood all over him, his chest torn open by her claws and his arm destroyed and thoroughly mauled. A sick sense of pride swept over her, along with a feeling of justice being served. She looked back at the hand that still touched her and noticed it was George, who was shakily standing with the support of Fred, who was hiding a crying Ginny behind him.

The human Rose crashed into control again and terror at what she had done filled her. She quickly transformed back, the blood on her face and nails remaining. She started sobbing as she quickly clung onto George, who to his credit didn't say a thing.

"The screaming has stopped," Fred noted after a while. "We should head back to the tent."

They made their way back silently, only pausing for a moment at a pond to clean Rose off.

"Rose," Ginny said before they broke the tree line.

"Yes…?" Rose asked quietly.

"Thank you for saving us."

Rose's eyes welled with tears again, but she didn't let them fall, "I'll always save you when possible."

"Ginny, Rose, Fred, George!" Charlie called once they broke the tree-line. "Are you okay? Where are the others?"

"We got separated," Fred said with a scowl as George started acting as if nothing foul had happened in the forest.

"Get in the tent, I'll keep watch," Charlie said with a frown.

"Okay," they all said as they slipped into the tent.

"Are we telling them?" Ginny asked.

"No. No one needs to know," George said with a frown. "I can handle this."

"That was an Unforgivable Curse, though, George!" Rose hissed at him, her hair poofing up a bit like her animagus form would.

"And they can't do anything for it. Just be glad you stopped it and leave it at that."

Rose scowled but dropped it, just clinging to him and Fred like a lifeline as she felt more connected to them than she ever had. She swiftly fell asleep as magic swept over her and the twins.

" _Rose," a crooning, alto voice said into Rose's ear. "Rose, wake up."_

 _Rose sat up with a groan and looked around. She could only see grassy hills around her with flowers everywhere and panic gripped her as she noticed the twins weren't with her._

" _Fred, George!" She yelled as she jumped up, patting herself for her wand._

" _Calm, Rose," the voice said again. Rose turned sharply toward it and noticed for the first time the shifting form of a woman next to her. Rose could not decide what the woman looked like, for one second her hands were old and wrinkled and the next they were as smooth as a newborn. Her whole face was ever shifting, and Rose could not keep track of what changes were being made. She had a strangely calming aura around her, though, and Rose felt her panic leaving her and leading her into complacency._

" _Who are you? Where are the twins?" Rose asked._

" _So impatient," the woman said, her voice still holding the crooning quality but now much higher in pitch. "To answer your question, young Rose, I am everyone. I am all you know, and all you don't. Simply put, I am Lady Magic. And I have come to bless your budding Triad with George and Fred Weasley."_

 _Rose felt joy wash over her, "Really?! Oh, I've been waiting for this! Well, I mean, I didn't know I would meet you, but the idea of you blessing our relationship! Oh, please, please bless us! Wait, why didn't Sarah tell me you would bless us in person?"_

 _Lady magic laughed, both deep and high at the same time and smiled broadly at Rose, "You don't see the twins here, do you? No, Rose Potter, you're a special one, and I wished to meet you personally. I see I made a wise choice in choosing you."_

" _Choosing me? Choosing me for what?"_

 _Lady Magic tisked, "The prophecy is strong within you, you are the perfect child for it," Lady Magic suddenly sat cross-legged in the air. "I have watched my children fight and kill each other for so long, I'm glad Lady Fate finally saw fit to throw you into the mix, but I did not want your life to go how it will be."_

" _What? What's going to happen? You personally made me? There's a prophecy about me?"_

" _So many questions, and no time," Lady Fate mourned. "You will get your answers in time, my child. Now, however," Lady Magic drew herself up into the air. "I, Ladua Nagaiek, bless the union between George Weasley, Rose Potter, and Fred Weasley. So mote it be!"_

 _-Pop!-_

Rose woke with a groan, two sets of arms surrounding her. She felt as if she had been hit by a bus, but Mr. Weasley was standing there and gently shaking one of the twins -Fred, she thought- and telling the three of them to wake up. Rose groaned quietly again and the twins both released her as they all sat up from the floor they had slept on. Rose could feel the twins and their moods in the back of her mind, making it so she knew that Fred's back hurt and George felt as if he had been hit by five bludgers at once.

Mr. Weasley used magic to pack up the tents, and they left the campsite as quickly as possible, passing Mr. Roberts at the door of his cottage. Mr. Roberts had a strange, dazed look about him, and he waved them off with a vague "Merry Christmas."

Rose didn't pay attention to anything after that, however. She knew that they were using a portkey to get back to the Burrow so she allowed her brain to wander. She could feel the twins getting more and more protective the more people that appeared, but she didn't know exactly why. She got a flash of an ever-changing face and a morphing voice.

 _I, Ladua Nagaiek, bless the union between George Weasley, Rose Potter, and Fred Weasley. So mote it be!_ A voice whispered in the back of her mind. Fred and George were worried about her, she could feel it, but she couldn't figure out why. Little did she know that it was because of her actions and the cacophony that was her mind. She felt disjointed to them, and they were worried that it was because of what had happened the night before, as they weren't certain of the bond yet.

Mr. Weasley had made it possible for them to take an old rubber tire back to Stoatshead Hill before the sun had really risen. They walked back through Ottery St. Catchpole and up the damp lane toward the Burrow in the dawn light, talking very little because they were so exhausted, and thinking longingly of their breakfast. As they rounded the corner and the Burrow came into view, a cry echoed along the lane.

"Oh thank goodness, thank goodness!"

Mrs. Weasley, who had evidently been waiting for them in the front yard, came running toward them, still wearing her bedroom slippers, her face pale and strained, a rolled-up copy of the _Daily Prophet_ clutched in her hand.

"Arthur - I've been so worried - _so worried_ -"

She flung her arms around Mr. Weasley's neck, and the _Daily Prophet_ fell out of her limp hand onto the ground. Looking down, Rose saw the headline: _SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP,_ complete with a twinkling black-and-white photograph of the Dark Mark over the treetops.

"You're all right," Mrs. Weasley muttered distractedly, releasing Mr. Weasley and staring around at them all with red eyes, "you're alive…. Oh, _boys_ …"

And to everyone's surprise, she seized Fred and George and pulled them both into such a tight hug that their heads banged together and Rose felt a throbbing pain start in her head where their heads had met.

" _Ouch!_ Mum - you're strangling us-"

"I shouted at you before you left!" Mrs. Weasley said, starting to sob. "It's all I've been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough O.W.L.s? Oh, Fred… George…"

"Come on, now, Molly, we're all perfectly okay," said Mr. Weasley soothingly, prising her off the twins and leading her back toward the house. "Bill," he added in an undertone, "pick up that paper, I want to see what it says…"

Sirius and Remus appeared after they were all crammed into the tiny kitchen. They knew immediately that something was wrong with Rose, but they didn't know what had happened or how to help. They distracted everyone enough to let Fred, Rose, and George slip into the Twin's room, though.

"Rose," George said immediately, sitting Rose onto his bed, "you couldn't have done anything else. You just acted on instinct, you didn't do anything wrong."

"We still love you, Spitfire," Fred said gently. "You know we don't use that word lightly."

It was true, the twins didn't use the word lightly. They loved their family, but they hardly told them so, and to be blessed with hearing the twins say those words about _her_ it felt as if a blind was lifted off of her heart.

"We were blessed by Lady Magic last night," Rose whispered. "I'm not… I'm not upset about killing that man. I cried, I got over it, and then we got blessed. I couldn't be… I don't think I could be happier than I am right now, and that's terrifying to me."

"Is that why we can feel you in our minds?" they asked nervously.

"Yeah," Rose said quietly. "Sarah told me that we would be able to 'sense each other' and that only really strong triads could connect their minds. She said that ours would probably be like that because of how long we've known each other and the fact that you two are twins. So it's just a new part of us."

"Didn't she also say we'd share a magical core?" Fred asked.

"Yes."

"How does that work?" George wondered.

Rose shrugged, "I don't know, I do know we're supposed to have bond marks, though."

"You mean like tattoos?" Fred wondered in awe.

"I hope she doesn't, then we'd have to explain it to mom!" George said fearfully.

Rose smiled slightly and shook her head, "I'm sorry guys, I do mean like tattoos."

Fred and George got horrified looks on their faces and stared at Rose in thinly veiled horror, so Rose decided to explain, "Others can't see it unless we want them to. So you could easily hide it from your mother. I already know where mine are. I also know that I'm the 'focus' of the triad so I actually have two instead of one."

The twins looked at her eagerly now, "Show us!"

Rose blushed and a light seemed to shimmer around her wrists. A golden Tree of Life was emblazoned on each wrist, with what appeared to be a light yellow cord attaching to each side of the left tree and bleeding its color into the tree. The same was happening to the right wrist, but the cord was an orange-red color.

The twins gasped and each wrist for a wrist; George to the left wrist, and Fred to the right. They stroked the design and Rose shivered lightly, drawing attention to her and away from her wrists.

"These are… Will ours be like this?" Fred asked, somehow breathless.

Rose shrugged, "No idea. It's possible that we could all share the same design, but I know Sarah, Jeremy, and Zac all have the same design, but no one is the focus of their group."

Fred and George each bent and kissed the wrist they were holding tenderly before eagerly searching their own bodies for their bond marks. Rose laughed until Fred tore his shirt off in search of his bond mark.

And what a bond mark it was! It was still a Tree of Life, although there was a plaque like area in the middle that had Rose's name on it. The tree had the gold, orange-red, and light yellow mixed through it. It was emblazoned boldly on his left shoulder and Rose couldn't help but to reach out to touch it as George took off his shirt too.

Feeling the bond mark was like a jolt straight to her core; it gave her so much happiness, a sense of belonging, and calmness. She felt Fred relax under her hand and knew he felt it too.

Feeling like it would be a terrible idea to remove her hand from Fred's bond mark Rose studied George's bond mark was nearly identical to Fred's. The colors weren't in exactly the same places, though, and his mark was on his right shoulder, not his reached out eagerly and put her hand on George's mark.

They all relaxed and George reached over and grabbed Rose's right wrist as Fred reached over to touch Rose's left wrist.

 _Safe. Home._

Rose's and the twins bodies slumped over, falling asleep in a small pile, Rose safely cuddled in between the twins.


	7. Chapter 7

Diagon Alley was practically barren; even with the new school year fast approaching. Parents were afraid to let their children into the open, all convinced that with the Dark Mark came the end of the world.

Rose's guardians, thankfully, were under no such illusion. So when Rose 'randomly' asked if they could take her to Diagon so she could talk to the Goblins, they didn't say anything about it. That is how she wound up in the Gringott's waiting room.

 _Miss Rose Potter,_

 _We got a notice that you have joined in a triad. We had been wanting to talk to you already, but this has given us a reason to reach out to you. We will be going over your estate and the likes._

 _We expect you on the 29_ _th_ _of August, 1994 at 12:15. Do not keep us waiting._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Rockgut_

 _Director of Gringotts,_

 _London_

"Rose Potter?" a male goblin said in a thin raspy voice, actually questioning her identity even though she was the only one in the waiting room.

"That's me," Rose said with a tilt of her head, shaking the letter out of her mind.

"Come with me, Miss Potter."

The Goblin started leading her farther into the bank. Up, down, left, right, right, right, down again, up twice, and then Rose noticed that they had already been in this hallway.

"Trying to confuse me, Sir?" Rose asked with a quietly. "I know for a fact we've already been in this hallway."

The goblin gave a small grin and nodded, "Very good. Let's be on our way then."

They took off rather quickly and the goblin brought her to a set of giant double doors that were flanked by two fierce goblin warriors. An inner part of Rose's brain questioned why in the world _goblins_ would have such giant doors, but she kept the thought to herself in fear of what the goblins could and would do to her. She didn't, however, question the Goblin warriors. She just inherently understood that whatever was beyond the obscenely giant doors was meant to be well looked after.

The goblin stood in front of the doors, "I am here with Miss Potter."

The two guards grunted and one pushed the doors open to let them through. Once in Rose understood _exactly_ why there were guards. The room had so many goblin-made weapons and armors on the walls that this single room would cost more than Hogwarts would. There was a large desk (at least in goblin terms) in the center of the room that had a velvet covered, high-backed chair behind it. In front of the desk were two chairs that looked comfortable, but only to an extent. Rose suddenly had the feeling that she had been brought in front of Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall because they were disappointed in her.

A door in the back of the room opened and a goblin ladened with many papers walked through and sat them on the desk, "Miss Potter, you may be seated. Scribe Raglast you can be on your way."

"Of course, Sir Rockgut," scribe Raglast said as he bowed and walked out.

Rose made her way to the desk and sat down stiffly, knowing it would be stupid to relax completely in front of these particular magical beings, "It's nice to meet you Sir Rockgut, may your gold flow and your enemies fall."

The words had spilled out of her mouth much to her chagrin, but Rockgut seemed impressed, "And the same to you, Miss Potter. Now, I called you here about your newly acquired Triad."

Rose nodded her head and leaned forward slightly, "Indeed you did. You also said you had been wanting to talk to me for a while before hand."

The goblin frowned slightly, but in a thoughtful way, "Yes, I have. You see, Miss Potter, I am in charge of this clan of Goblins, and it is high time that I had a discussion with you."

"Is this normal for everyone?" Rose wondered aloud.

"Not at all. I hardly ever meet with anyone, but you are special, aren't you?"

Rose sighed, "People keep insinuating that, yes."

The goblin seemed to choke on the breath he had taken, "Are you meaning to tell me that you have no idea about your prophecy?"

Rose got wide eyed, "My prophecy?"

' _The prophecy is strong within you, you are the perfect child for it,'_ a voice whispered into her ear, more like a memory than a stray thought.

"Well, yes. You have a prophecy. In fact, I have a copy of its words somewhere…" He frowned again as he opened one of the drawers of the desk and pulled out a yellowed piece of parchment before handing the brittle thing to her.

Thin, sharp handwriting filled the piece of parchment that Rose suddenly felt very attached to. She started reading it quickly.

 _Light's child hath been born; perceived impediment of darkness. At the child's side sits Ember's daughter, who sits under the trial of shadows. Marked as an equal in all but time she rises above when needed, a beacon to darkness as to light. When worthy all will bow before her, though she shan't ask, else the bond be broken. Called to help all those she oversees her kindness with make the bonds of the damned crack._

Rose blinked and stared at the paper in front of her. She felt as if the room was collapsing in around her, and she could hear a faint buzzing, though she didn't know what it was.

"There's more, of course, but that is the basic version. I think the trials are the fascinating part, but I didn't think it would be fair to tell you about them."

Rose took a deep breath and the buzzing subsided as she handed the paper back to the goblin, "Thank you for telling me. But what does it mean?"

The goblin frowned, "As with all prophecies its meaning is debatable. We have figured out through trial and error though that it means you'll protect all magical beings, not just Witches and Wizards."

 _Trial and error?_ "Okay. Okay. Ummm…. But what does this have to do with me coming here?"

Rockgut seemed to take pity on her, "I brought you here to talk to you about your estate and to find out about your personality, your views. You have passed all tests thus far, but I needed to see you for my own eyes."

Rose sighed and nodded, "Well, I think… Perhaps, Sir Rockgut, we could continue the evaluation of my character another day? Let us just talk about my estate."

There was a rush of hot air from Rockgut, his evaluating eyes laying heavily on her. He seemed to find what he was looking for and nodded before grabbing some of the papers off the large stack, "You see, Miss Potter, you have an interesting choice ahead of you. In the eyes of your government, you are now, technically, an adult. Being blessed in a triad is a large gift, one that we don't often get to see. Currently, there are two in Brittan, although one of those two originated in the Americas, and that alone should tell you how rare this phenomenon is. Many people join in triads, but most don't get blessed as you have. May I see your bond mark?"

"Marks," Rose replied quietly as her wrists shimmered in magic before showing the marks on her wrists to the goblin.

"Hmm… Well, Miss Potter, it is as I thought. Your Triad will be very powerful, very powerful indeed. That is if you aren't already. As I was saying, in the eyes of your government you are considered an adult now, simply on the basis that they believe children don't know what they want, so they couldn't be faithful enough to get those marks you have. Now, being an adult is effort, Miss Potter, but it is more effort for an heiress to a fortune. We would, normally, wait for your twin to be considered an adult before bringing any of this up, but with how your life seems to be going we decided we should talk to you and offer him an offer we don't normally give. He can declare himself an adult after 15 years of age so that you would not have to be the head of the family anymore."

"What does being the head of the family entail?"

"For you? As a female, you would make sure you have the proper amount of houselves to keep your Estates in line, you would fund money to any charities or organizations that you wish to be 'Potter approved' and you would make sure that you knew each and everything there is to know about the Potter household."

Rose sighed, "And for my brother?"

"Well, he has a much harder job. He has to make sure your gold does not disappear rapidly, he has to duel everyone who challenges house Potter, he needs to provide for all of those who are members of house Potter, which at the current moment is only the two of you, but he can also add people as 'dependents' to the house."

"So sort of like adopting people into our family?"

"Essentially."

Rose hummed thoughtfully, "So, tell me what I need to know about the Estate."

A stack of papers was pushed toward her, "Take these with you, Miss Potter. I believe you need to do some research."

Rose frowned and sighed, "I believe you're correct."

"I'm sure you'll also want to talk to Delco Paternus about all of this too, won't you?"

Rose looked at the Goblin and frowned, "Do you know everything about me?"

"Not everything, but I will eventually, Miss Potter."

* * *

Delco awoke to an irritating tapping on the window.

"Fucking Merlin," he groaned as he sat up, the window completely blocked by curtains.

"Make it stop," Cian hissed as he stole the pillow Delco had been laying on to block his ears. "It's still day, you can't do this to me."

"Hush," Delco growled as he slipped out of the bed to open the curtains and window in such a way the light wouldn't hit Cian. Galen was flapping indignantly at the window, holding a letter in his beak as if threatening to tear it apart in front of him.

"Oh, it's from Rose!" Delco said as he let the owl into the room.

"I hate her," Cian dead-panned. "And it smells angry."

Delco rolled his eyes at the drowsy vampire, not taking his words seriously. Opening the letter, however, proved him wrong.

His wide-eyed expression seemed to be enough for Galen, the over-protective owl that he was, and he flew off into the distance, his sarcastic hoot ringing in the air.

"Fucking juice boxes!" Cian hissed, his eyes flashing an annoyed black as he crawled out of the bed and slammed the window shut before whipping the curtains closed, only letting out an angry hiss at the blisters the sun left on his arm.

"You're an idiot," Delco deadpanned, snapping out of his stupor in order to tend to the wounds on his lover's arm.

"If you would've gotten over yourself and the fucking note I wouldn't have had to be an idiot. But you didn't and so now we're here. What's in the note anyways?"

Delco cleared his throat, "Read it while I go and get some potions for your burn."

Cian grabbed the letter and started reading through it.

 _Delco,_

 _I have suddenly learned that I don't like secrets. At least, not secrets that are kept from me that are about me._

 _Did you know, Delco, that I am part of a prophecy? A prophecy that directly correlates to my ability to make friends with the magical creatures that I've met. For instance, Cian. Or, even more painful, you. Our bond, the one that I now feel was unjustly invoked and that you just accepted to further yourself, is special. But I don't see how we can be as close as this bond is meant to make us if secrets are kept._

 _In short; how dare you?_

 _Yours in anger,_

 _Rose_

Cian winced and whistled low under his breath, Delco choosing that moment to come into the room.

"She's pissed at you," Cian said.

"She doesn't know you're involved," Delco whispered as he started applying salves to the burned area of Cian's skin.

Cian's heart ached for the werewolf, "Tell her then. Tell her everything."

"Everything isn't an option. But I will tell her more."

* * *

Rose was used to getting onto platform nine and three-quarters by now. It was a simple matter of walking straight through the apparently solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. The only tricky part was doing this in an unobtrusive way, so as to avoid attracting Muggle attention. They did it in groups that day; Harry, Ron, and Hermione went first. George, Rose, and Fred went next. They leaned casually against the barrier and slid sideways through it.

The Hogwarts Express, a gleaming scarlet steam engine, was already there, clouds of steam billowing from it, through which the many Hogwarts students and parents on the platform appeared like dark ghosts. The bonded trio walked off to find seats and were soon stowing their luggage in a compartment near the end of the train. They then hopped back down onto the platform to say goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie. Remus, Sirius, and Mr. Weasley were all extremely busy; Remus debriefing the werewolves, and Sirius and Mr. Weasley at the Ministry of Magic.

"I might be seeing you all sooner than you think," said Charlie, grinning, as he hugged Ginny good-bye.

"Why?" chorused the triad.

"You'll see," said Charlie. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it… it's 'classified information, until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it,' after all."

"Yeah, I sort of wish I were back at Hogwarts this year," said Biyuhhnhbbll, hands in his pockets, looking almost wistfully at the train.

" _Why?"_ said George impatiently. Rose could feel the nagging curiosity coming through the bond from both twins.

"You're going to have an interesting year," said Bill, his eyes twinkling. "I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it…"

"A bit of _what_?" said Rose.

But at that moment, the whistle blew, and Mrs. Weasley chivvied them toward the train doors.

"Thanks for letting me stay, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione.

"Oh it was a pleasure, dear," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'd invite you all for Christmas, but… well, I expect you're all going to want to stay at Hogwarts, what with… one thing and another."

"Mum!" said Ron irritably. "What d'you three know that we don't?"

"You'll find out this evening, I expect," said Mrs. Weasley, smiling. "It's going to be very exciting - mind you, I'm very glad they've changed the rules -"

"What rules?" said Harry, Ron, Rose, Fred, and George together.

"I'm Sure Professor Dumbledore will tell you…. Now, behave, won't you?"

The pistons hissed loudly and the train began to move.

"Tell us what's happening at Hogwarts!" Fred bellowed out of the window as Mrs. Weasley, Bill and Charlie sped away from them. "What rules are they changing?"

But Mrs. Weasley only smiled and waved. Before the train had rounded the corner, she, Bill, and Charlie had Disapparated.

Fred, George, and Rose went back to their compartment. The thick rain splattering the windows made it very difficult to see out of them. Rose grabbed a book from her trunk and settled between the twins to start reading.

"Bagman wanted to tell us what's happening at Hogwarts," Fred grumbled. "At the World Cup, remember?"  
"But our own mother won't say. Wonder what is going on?" George finished as he leaned over to kiss Rose's temple.

"Whatever it is it's supposed to be exciting," Rose mused as she found her page in her book.

"We don't want you to read," Fred whined and Rose felt the truth in the sentence.

"Yeah, talk to us!" George said with conviction.

Rose smiled slightly and shook her head, gently closing the book. "What should we talk about?"

Fred's head went to the crook of her neck as he started rubbing his nose against her throat, "Anything."

"We just want to hear your voice," George agreed as he took her wrist and started kissing what he had dubbed as 'his' bond mark.

Rose smiled slightly, "Somehow I don't believe you want me to talk. I can feel that you two are looking for something else. You both realize I am a virgin and this is a moving train, correct?"

George and Fred grumbled but she felt them both calm down, "We know. It's just… With this bond it's so hard to resist you. You feel it too."

Rose smiled slightly. She was much better at hiding her true feelings from the twins than they were from hiding theirs from her. In truth, she felt aroused by them twice as much as they did, and she blamed it on their shameless flirtations and the fact that there were two of them to focus on instead of one.

"Well, yes, I do. That doesn't mean we should just go at it like rabbits. I think… I think it might be smart for us to explore other things before just jumping right to sex."

George kissed her temple and smiled as Fred grumbled again.

"We'll do anything for you, Rose," they said together.

Rose shivered and smiled, "Well then, George, how about you two tell me where you are on your latest products?"

The twins' eyes glittered mischievously, "Well, do you have your book?"

"My notebook slash journal thing?"

They rolled their eyes, "Yes."

Rose pulled out the book that she had shrank down through the twin's complex spell work and hummed happily as it enlarged in her hands, "Of course I do. Don't leave anywhere without it."

The twins each kissed one of her cheeks and then started pouring over the notebook with her and the pranks they could and would pull through the year.

Their conversation pulled them through the rest of the journey. The twins had left so Rose could put on her school robes, and she had exited so they could do the same. The train slowed down and stopped in the pitch-darkness of Hogsmeade station. As the train doors opened, there was a rumble of thunder overhead. They bundled up against the rain; heads bent and eyes narrowed against the downpour. The rain was now coming down so thick and fast that it was as though buckets of ice-cold water were being emptied repeatedly over their heads.

"I'm so glad I'm not a First-year!" Rose said as Hagrid led the first years to the lake. She was pinned in between the twins, shivering, as they inched forward along the dark platform with the rest of the crowd. A hundred carriages stood waiting for them outside the station, being lead by what Rose knew to be thestrals. The twins threw a grateful Rose into one and clambered in after her. The door shut with a snap, and a few moments later, with a great lurch, the long procession of carriages was rumbling and splashing its way up the track toward Hogwarts Castle. Rose resisted the urge to keep sticking her head out of the window so she could see the thestral that her Patronus was in the shape of.

Through the gates, flanked with statues of winged boars, and up the sweeping drive the carriages trundled, swaying dangerously in what was quickly becoming a gale. Leaning against the window, Rose could see Hogwarts coming nearer, its many lighted windows blurred and shimmering behind the thick curtain of rain. Lightning flashed across the sky as their carriage came to a halt before the great oak front doors, which stood at the top of a flight of stone steps. People who had occupied the carriages in front were already hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. Fred, Rose, and George jumped down from their carriage and dashed up the steps too, looking up only when they were safely inside the cavernous, torch-lit entrance hall, with its magnificent marble staircase.

"Merlin," said Rose, wringing her hair out, "if that keeps up the lake's going to overflow!"

"Of course that's your concern," Fred said with a roll of his eyes as he and George sent water flying everywhere by shaking their heads.

Shrieks were suddenly sounding around them as large, red, water-filled balloons had dropped from out of the ceiling onto people's heads. People all around them shrieked and started pushing one another in their efforts to get out of the line of fire. Rose looked up and saw, floating twenty feet above them, Peeves the Poltergeist, a little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow tie, his wide, malicious face contorted with concentration as he took aim again.

"PEEVES!" yelled an angry voice. "Peeves, come down here at ONCE!"

Fred and George went pale, as their pockets were laden with joke products and they quickly dragged Rose into the Great Hall, which looked its usual splendid self. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in midair. The four long House tables were packed with chattering students; at the top of the Hall, the staff sat along one side of a fifth table, facing their pupils. It was much warmer in here. Rose, Fred, and George walked past the Slytherins, the Ravenclaws, and the Hufflepuffs, and sat down with the rest of the Gryffindors at the far side of the Hall, next to Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost. Pearly white and semitransparent, Nick was dressed tonight in his usual doublet, but with a particularly large ruff, which served the dual purpose of looking extra festive, and insuring that his head didn't wobble too much on his partially severed neck.

"Good evening," he said, beaming at them and the Golden Trio.

"Says who?" said Harry, taking off his sneakers and emptying them of water.

"Be nice Harry!" Rose chastised. "Good evening Sir Nicholas."

"Hope they hurry up with the Sorting. I'm starving," Ron griped.

Just then, a highly excited, breathless voice called down the table.

"Hiya, Harry!"

It was Colin Creevey, a third year whom Harry was something of a hero to.

Rose ignored him and looked up at the staff table. There was someone missing, Hagrid was with the students, and Professor McGonagall was waiting for them at the front door.

"Strange to think that we're back here, isn't it?" Fred asked in a whisper.

"No. I rather like it here," Rose mused.

"Then I wonder why you feel so weirded out?" George muttered.

Rose frowned and watched Dumbledore for a moment. His long, thin fingers were together and he was resting is chin upon them, staring up at the ceiling through his half-moon spectacles as though lost in thought. Rose glanced up at the ceiling too. It was enchanted to look like the sky outside, and she had never seen it look this stormy. Black and purple clouds were swirling across it, and as another thunderclap sounded outside, a fork of lightning flashed across it.

"Rose, you can't ignore us," the twins whispered into her hair, pulling her tighter in between them.

Rose sighed and relaxed in their grasp. No sooner had she opened her mouth than the doors of the Great Hall opened and silence fell. Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first years up to the top of the Hall. If Rose and the twins were wet, it was nothing to how these first years looked. They appeared to have swum across the lake rather than sailed. All of them were shivering with a combination of cold and nerves as they filed along the staff table and came to a halt in a line facing the rest of the school – all of them except the smallest of the lot, a boy with mousy hair, who was wrapped in what Rose recognized as Hagrid's moleskin overcoat. The coat was so big for him that it looked as though he were draped in a furry black circus tent. His small face protruded from over the collar, looking almost painfully excited. When he had lined up with his terrified looking peers, he caught Colin Creevey's eye, gave a double thumbs up, and mouthed, _I fell in the lake!_ He looked positively delighted about it.

Professor McGonagall now placed a four-legged stool on the ground before the first years and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty, patched wizard's hat. The first years stared at it. So did everyone else. For a moment, there was silence. Then a long tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song:

 _A thousand years or more ago,_

 _When I was newly sewn,_

 _There lived four wizards of renown,_

 _Whose names are still well known:_

 _Bold Gryffindor, from wild more,_

 _Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,_

 _Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,_

 _Shrewd Slytherin, from fen._

 _They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,_

 _They hatched a daring plan_

 _To educate young sorcerers_

 _Thus Hogwarts School began._

 _Now each of these four founders_

 _Formed their own House, for each_

 _Did value different virtues_

 _In the ones they had to teach._

 _By Gryffindor, the bravest were_

 _Prized far beyond the rest;_

 _For Ravenclaw, the cleverest_

 _Would always be the best;_

 _For Hufflepuff, hard workers were_

 _Most worthy of admission;_

 _And power-hungry Slytherin_

 _Loved those of great ambition._

 _While still alive they did divide_

 _Their favorites from the throng,_

 _Yet how to pick the worthy ones_

 _When they were dead and gone?_

' _Twas Gryffindor who found the way,_

 _He whipped me off his head_

 _The founders put some brains in me_

 _So I could choose instead!_

 _Now slip me snug about your ears,_

 _I've never yet been wrong,_

 _I'll have a look inside your mind_

 _And tell where you belong!_

The Great Hall rang with applause as the Sorting Hat finished.


	8. Chapter 8

Professor McGonagall unrolled a large scroll of parchment.

"When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool," she told the first years. "When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table.

"Ackerley, Stewart!"

A boy walked forward, visibly trembling from head to foot, picked up the Sorting Hat, put it on, and sat down on the stool.

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat.

Stewart Ackerley took off the hat and hurried into a seat at the Ravenclaw table, where everyone was applauding him.

"Baddock, Malcom!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

The table on the other side of the hall erupted with cheers; Rose could see Malfoy clapping as Baddock joined the Slytherins. Fred and George were about to hiss but Rose quickly punched them both, resisting the urge to go to the Slytherin table herself.

"Branstone, Eleanor!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Cauldwell, Owen!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Creevey, Dennis!"

Tiny Dennis Creevey staggered forwards, tripping over Hagrid's moleskin, just as Hagrid himself sidled into the Hall through a door behind the teachers' table. About twice as tall as a normal man, and at least three times as broad, Hagrid, with his long, wild, tangled black hair and beard, looked slightly alarming – a misleading impression, for Rose knew Hagrid to possess a very kind nature. He winked at them as he sat down at the end of the staff table and watched Dennis Creevey putting on the Sorting Hat. The tip at the brim opened wide-

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.

Hagrid clapped along with the Gryffindors as Dennis Creevey, beaming widely, took off the hat, placed it back on the stool, and hurried over to join his brother.

"Colin, I fell in!" he said shrilly, throwing himself into an empty seat. "It was brilliant! And something in the water grabbed me and pushed me back in the boat!"

"Cool!" said Colin, just as excitedly. "It was probably the giant squid, Dennis!"

" _Wow!"_ said Dennis, as though nobody in their wildest dreams could hope for more than being thrown into a storm-tossed, fathoms-deep lake, and pushed out of it again by a giant sea monster.

"Dennis! Dennis! See that boy down there? The one with the black hair and glasses? See him? _Know who he is, Dennis?_ "

Rose was so happy that she wasn't Colin's obsession.

The sorting continued; boys and girls with varying degrees of fright on their faces moving one by one to the four-legged stool, the line dwindling slowly as Professor McGonagall passed the M's.

"Paternus, Meghan!"

Rose felt a chill go down her back. Paternus? But yet, the girl didn't have any resemblance to Delco, did she? She did. Her skin was the color of a toffee, and her hair was black and coily, and her eyes were deep blue. At least from Rose's vantage point. Her robes were long on her arms, so long that you couldn't see her hands. There was no way she could be Delco's child, it was a coincidence. It had to be a coincidence! Sure, she looked like Delco, sure she seemed confident from Rose's perspective, sure she-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Or maybe she was. Was Rose a Magically-bound Aunt?!

"Pritchard, Graham!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Quirke, Orla!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

And finally, with "Whitby, Kevin!" ("HUFFLEPUFF!"), the Sorting ended, Professor McGonagall picked up the hat and the stool and carried them away.

"About time," said Ron, seizing his knife and fork and looking expectantly at his golden plate.

Professor Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was smiling around at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome.

"I have only two words to say to you," he told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. _"Tuck in."_

"Hear, hear!" said Fred and George loudly as the empty dishes filled magically before their eyes. Rose rolled her eyes and filled her plate eagerly and ate. Every time she left the castle she found that she missed eating the food that the Hogwarts Elves made. She missed everything about the old castle if she was completely honest.

"I love food," Fred said, his eyes glistening playfully, trying to distract Rose from whatever had made her mood turn south so rapidly.

"Not as much as I do!" George said dramatically, waving a chicken leg around like a club and very nearly hitting Rose.

"Boys, please!" Rose said dramatically. "Neither of you love food as much as I do!"

"Puh-lease!" they chorused as the three of them laughed and continued eating.

The rain was still drumming heavily against the high, dark glass. Another clap of thunder shook the windows, and the stormy ceiling flashed, illuminating the golden plates as the remains of the first course vanished and were replaced, instantly, with puddings.

"Oh, chocolate!" Rose cooed.

"Cake," Fred and George said with large grins.

' _Save it for later boys,'_ Rose whispered into their minds. The typical Weasley blush making her laugh happily.

When the puddings too had been demolished, and the last crumbs had faded off the plates, leaving them sparkling clean, Albus Dumbledore got to his feet again. The buzz of chatter filling the Hall ceased almost at once so that only the howling wind and pounding rain could be heard.

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Every-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office if anybody would like to check it."

The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched. He knew that the only people who would check the list would be the Weasley twins. He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

" _What?"_ Rose gasped as she looked at Fred and George, who were mouthing soundlessly at Dumbledore, too appalled to speak. Rose could feel their shock rolling though her much like the thunder shook the building. Dumbledore went on, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy – but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts –"

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up toward the teachers' table.

A dull _clunk_ echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling.

The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and it was a face unlike any Rose had ever seen. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of the nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening.

One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye – and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all they could see was whiteness.

' _It's Mad-Eye Moody! He's our DADA Professor!'_ Fred and George's voices screamed into her head.

' _Bloody hell! We're going to die!'_

Mad-Eye reached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbledore shook it, muttering words no-one could hear. He seemed to be making some inquiry of Mad-Eye, who shook his head unsmilingly and replied in an undertone. Dumbledore nodded and gestured the man to the empty seat on his right-hand side.

Mad-Eye sat down, shook his mane of dark gray hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages toward him, raised it to what was left of his nose, and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage on the end of it and started eating it. His normal eye was fixed upon the sausages, but the blue eye was still darting restlessly around in its socket, taking in the Hall and the students.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."

It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students clapped except Dumbledore and Hagrid, who both put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him. Fred and George got a feeling of dread at seeing him, and one of each of their arms wrapped around Rose.

Moody seemed totally indifferent to his less-than-warm welcome. Ignoring the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached again into his traveling cloak, pulled out a hip flask, and took a long draught from it. As he lifted his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled a few inches from the ground, and Rose saw, below the table, several inches of carved wooden leg, ending in a clawed foot.

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" Fred practically screamed in Rose's ear, earning a slap from Rose even though she knew it was only to release the tension in the room.

Nearly everyone laughed at Fred though, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.

"I am _not_ joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar…"

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Er- but maybe this is not the time… no…" said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament… well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who _do_ know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities – until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

The hall was filled with excited whispering and Rose shook her head; anyone who truly wanted to do this had a death wish.

"The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their shortlisted contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Fred hissed, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches. He was not the only person who seemed to be visualizing himself as the Hogwarts champion, though, and Rose hoped beyond hope she could convince him out of it.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age – that is to say, seventeen years or older – will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This" -Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and Fred and George were suddenly furious – "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over to Fred's and George's mutinous faces. "I, therefore, beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Mad-Eye Moody. There was a great scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet and swarmed toward the double doors into the entrance hall.

"They can't do that!" said George, who had not joined the crowd moving toward the door, but was standing up and glaring at Dumbledore. "We're seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot?"

"They're not stopping me entering," said Fred stubbornly, also scowling at the top table. "The champions'll get to do all sorts of stuff you'd never be allowed to do normally. And a thousand Galleons prize money!"

"Yeah, said Ron, a faraway look on his face. "Yeah, a thousand Galleons…"

"Come on," said Hermione, "we'll be the only ones left here if you don't move."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Rose set off for the entrance hall, Fred and George debating the ways in which Dumbledore might stop those who were under seventeen from entering the tournament and how to beat them.

"Who's this impartial judge who's going to decide who the champions are?" said Harry.

"Dunno," said Fred, "but it's them we'll have to fool. I reckon a couple of drops of Aging Potions might do it, George…"

"Dumbledore knows you're not of age, and that you were upset by the decision. There's no way you'll be able to fool the judge now," Rose pointed out.

"It sounds to me like once this judge knows who wants to enter, he'll choose the best from each school and never mind how old they are. Dumbledore's trying to stop us giving our names."

"People have died, though!" Rose and Hermione said as they walked through a door concealed behind a tapestry and started up another, narrower staircase.

"Yeah," said Fred airily, "but that was years ago, wasn't it? Anyway, where's the fun without a bit of risk? Hey, Ron, what if we find out how to get 'round Dumbledore? Fancy entering?"

"What d'you reckon?" Ron asked Harry. "Be cool to enter, wouldn't it? But I s'pose they might want someone older…. Dunno if we've learned enough…"

"I definitely haven't," came Neville's gloomy voice from behind Fred and George.

"I expect my gran'd want me to try, though. She's always going on about how I should be upholding the family honor. I'll just have to – oops…"

Neville's foot had sunk right through a step halfway up the staircase. There were many of these trick stairs at Hogwarts; it was second nature to most of the older students to jump this particular step, but Neville's memory was notoriously poor. Harry and Ron seized him under the armpits and pulled him out, while a suit of armor at the top of the stairs creaked and clanked, laughing wheezily.

"Shut it, you," said Ron, banging down its visor as they passed.

They made their way up to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, which was concealed behind a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said as they approached.

"Balderdash," said George, "a prefect downstairs told me."

"When?" asked Rose as she tried to remember everyone he had talked to at dinner.

George shrugged and smirked, "When we were downstairs."

The portrait swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall through which they all climbed. A crackling fire warmed the circular common room, which was full of squashy armchairs and tables. Hermione cast the merrily dancing flames a dark look, and Rose distinctly heard her mutter _"Slave labor,"_ before attempting to bid them good night.

"No, Hermione," Rose shook her head and held her hand up, "I can't allow this to continue. This is about the house-elves, isn't it?"

"Yes! They shouldn't have to work like this!"

Rose sighed. She hadn't discussed it with anyone yet, but it seemed that now was the time to show that she was an adult off. She'd explain to everyone else later.

"I'm not sure this'll work but… Zolsy!"

There was a crack as a tall (in house- elf terms) house-elf appeared in front of Rose, already bowed so low that her button-esque nose had almost pressed itself to the floor. Her bat-like ears were pointed high into the air, though, listening for anything Rose said. She wore a pillowcase with the Potter Crest emblazoned onto the front and back. Hermione gasped in dismay that her friend owned a house-elf, and Harry gasped when he realized that Rose shouldn't _have_ a house-elf.

"You have a house-elf?!" Hermione and Harry chorused.

"Zolsy is also being Master Potter's elf too, sir!" Zolsy squeaked, still in a deep bow.

"Stand up straight Zolsy, I would like you to answer some questions for me and Miss Hermione Granger," Rose said with a small smile as she kneeled in front of the elf.

"Ohh, Mistress Potter musn't kneel, she's going to get dirty!" Zolsy said demandingly, her eyes flicking over the Gryffindor common room disapprovingly.

"Zolsy," Rose quietly said, with enough warning in her voice for the disapproving elf to fall silent.

"Wait, you always told us you didn't have a house-elf!" Ron said angrily.

"Well, we didn't," Rose said quietly. "Technically _we_ don't have one," Rose said looking at Harry apologizingly. "Not yet at least. Right now, she's all mine, and so are the others. Harry has to wait to be seventeen."

"What-?"

Rose cut Harry and the Twins off, "Later. Now, Hermione, you have questions that only Zolsy can answer. Zolsy, would you like to answer Hemione's questions?"

"Zolsy would love to!"

Hermione's face, which had gotten red and blotchy through the conversation kneeled next to Rose in front of Zolsy, who looked as if she wanted to protest again.

"Zolsy, are you enslaved?" Hermione asked, straight to the point.

"Enslaved?" Zolsy's squeaky voice asked slowly.

"Yes. Forced to work when you don't want to for no pay."

"No."

"You're not enslaved?"

"No! Zolsy isn't wanting to be paid, and isn't wanting to _not_ work! Zolsy loves working!"

"You… Like working?"

"Zolsy _loves_ working! It's Zolsy's job to take care of Mistress Potter and, if he asks, Master Potter too! The last Master and Mistress Potter wasn't having Zolsy that long, but Zolsy is taking loving care of little Master and Mistress Potter! Or, she was until mean Mister Pads be taking them from her," Zolsy's normally cheerful demeanor soured immediately at the thought of Sirius taking the Potter twins from her care, and Rose smiled slightly.

"So… You've been alone this whole time?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Don't be silly, Hermione," Rose said with a small smile, "Zolsy isn't even close to being alone."

"How many house-elves do you have?!" Fred, George, and Ron asked.

"Oh. Well…"

"We's be having ten in the kitchen, ten in cleaning, five in retirement, four two young to work, and six who be doing everything else," Zolsy proudly answered.

"What else is there to do?" Harry asked in wonderment. "Where is all of this work?"

"Zolsy, don't answer that!" Rose quickly said.

Zolsy, who's mouth had been open to answer, snapped her mouth shut and stared at Rose wide eyed just like everyone else did.

"Why don't you want us to know?" everyone asked.

Rose's face was very red, "It's… It's my secret for the moment. They're currently _my_ houselves and I haven't finished half of the paperwork I need to, let alone told anyone! I don't… I don't want you all to know until I get everything sorted, and right now it seems impossible. It'll be easier when you, Harry, are an adult, or when you're fifteen whichever you choose. But-"

"What does being fifteen have to do with anything?"

"Nothing!" Rose said, groaning in irritation. "Zolsy, go back and tell all of the others that every house-elf under the Potter house has to follow the same rule, _no physical punishments._ "

"Physical punishments?!" Hermione stuttered as Zolsy bowed before disappearing. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Listen. I just wanted you to know that House-elves were happy where they were, doing what they do, and taking care of their witch or wizard. There is no reason to do anything drastic to help them, they don't want nor need to be helped. I'm saving you from social suicide." Rose stood up quickly and kissed Fred's and George's cheek, before dashing up the stairs to the girl's dorm, eager to get out of blasting range for everyone's questions.


	9. Chapter 9

The storm had blown itself out by the following morning, though the ceiling in the Great Hall was still gloomy; heavy clouds of pewter gray swirled overhead as Rose, Fred, and George examined their new course schedules at breakfast. Fred and George were also avidly discussing magical methods of aging themselves and bluffing their way into the Triwizard Tournament with Lee Jordan, as both knew it irritated Rose to no end, and they believe it was okay to irritate her as she was keeping a secret from them.

"Today's not bad… outside all morning," said Ron, who was running his finger down the Monday column of his schedule. "Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures… damn it, we're still with the Slytherins…"

"That'll suck once winter hits," Rose muttered, looking at her own schedule, and knowing that it would closely resemble theirs.

"Double Divination this afternoon," Harry groaned, looking down, causing Rose to laugh at his plight.

"Should've given it up like me, shouldn't you have?" said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. "Then you'd be doing something sensible like Arithmancy."

Now it was Rose's turn to groan. Rose liked Arithmancy, but she felt as if the Professor, Septima Vector, didn't like her that much. Professor Vector had only grilled Rose on the first day of class, but she still occasionally gave Rose dirty looks as if she hadn't washed in months.

Before anyone could comment there was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. Instinctively, Rose looked up. She saw Galen in the mass of owls and she whistled lowly for him. Galen immediately 'dropped' from the sky and landed on her shoulder, hooting proudly.

"Hey, boy, what do you have for me on this fair day?" Rose asked with a small smile on her face.

Galen held one of his feet out so she could grab the letter tied to it. She looked at it for a moment before deciding not to open it, just in case. Fred and George were staring at her and the letter very openly, with devious looks, and Rose knew they wanted to snatch it from her and read it as soon as she opened it.

"Here you go," Rose said, offering Galen some sausage. He eagerly took it and then flew off, leaving just before a large owl dropped off a package in front of her. She looked at the owl and groaned. It wore a small band around its leg showing that it belonged to Gringotts.

"Here you go," Rose sighed as she handed a piece of sausage to it before it flew off.

"What's that?" Fred and George asked as they immediately moved closer.

"Nothing," Rose said with a faint smile as she picked up the package and the letter. "I'll see you later, I'm going to drop these off in my dorm."

Rose struggled to focus on anything besides the package as she walked down to greenhouse three. She knew who it was from but she didn't want more paperwork to fill out. She only started paying attention when Professor Sprout showed the class the ugliest plants Rose had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid.

"Bubotubers," Professor Sprout told them briskly. "They need squeezing. You will collect the pus-"

"The _what_?" said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted.

"Pus, Finnigan, pus," said Professor Sprout, "and it's extremely valuable, so don't waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bobotuber pus."

Squeezing the bobotubers was disgusting, but oddly cathartic. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of the thick yellowish-green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol. They caught in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints.

"This'll keep Madam Pomfrey happy," said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. "An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bobotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples."

"Like poor Eloise Midgen," said Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice "She tried to curse hers off."

"Silly girl," said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. "But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end."

A booming bell echoed from the castle across the wet grounds, signaling the end of the lesson, and the class separated; the Hufflepuffs climbing the stone steps for Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors heading in the other direction, down the sloping lawn toward Hagrid's small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid was standing outside his hut, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining at his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. As they drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached their ears, punctuated by what sounded like minor explosions.

"Mornin'!" Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Rose. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this – Blast-Ended Skrewts!"

"Come again?" said Ron.

Hagrid pointed down into the crates.

"Eurgh!" squealed Lavender Brown, jumping backward.

"They don't much like you either!" a squeaky, but masculine voice said as Aelfric shot out from the side of one of the boxes and into Rose's hair.

"Don't you dare knot my hair Aelfric!" Rose screeched as Lavender huffed angrily at the fairy.

Aelfric huffed in irritation that his plans had been stopped before they were even set into motion and he sat on her shoulder as she inspected the Blast-Ended Skrewts. They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of a skrewt, and with a small _phut_ , it would be propelled forward several inches.

"On'y jus' hatched," said Hagrid proudly, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!"

"And why would we _want_ to raise them?" said a cold voice.

The Slytherins had arrived. The speaker was Draco Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling appreciatively at his words.

Hagrid looked stumped at the question, and Rose's heart sank.

"I mean, what do they _do_?" asked Malfoy. "What is the _point_ of them?"

Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds' pause, then he said roughly, "Tha's next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. Now, yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few diff'rent things – I've never had 'em before, not sure what tey'll go fer – I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass snake – just try 'em out with a bit of each."

"First pus and now this," muttered Seamus.

Rose carefully fed them, only Aelfric's whispered advice keeping her out of harms way.

" _Ouch!"_ yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. "It got me!"

Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious.

"It's end exploded!" said Dean angrily, showing Hagrid a burn on his hand.

"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off," said Hagrid, nodding.

"Eurgh!" said Lavender Brown again. "Eurgh, Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?"

"Ah, some of 'em have got stings," said Hagrid enthusiastically (Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box while Aelfric laughed gaily in Rose's ear). "I reckon they're the males…. The females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies…. I think tey might be ter suck blood."

"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," said Malfoy sarcastically. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"

"Just because they're not pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful," Hermione snapped. "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?"

Rose sighed sadly. She turned her head slightly and acted as if she were still feeding the Skrewts, but she wasn't.

"Have you come to the same conclusion as I did?" Aelfric asked sadly.

"They shouldn't exist, should they?" Rose asked with tears in her eyes.

"Well… Ask one of them to do something," Aelfric suggested.

Rose looked at one of the 'females' (although Rose was certain the ones with the suckers were actually the males, and the sucker was how they would attach to females during mating) and focused all of her energy into her next sentence, "Stop moving."

Its behavior didn't change at all.

An hour later as everyone was heading to lunch, Rose hung back to talk to Hagrid.

"Hagrid, what did you do?" Rose asked as she motioned to the Blast-Ended Skrewts.

"Nothin'," Hagrid said, on full defense.

"Fire crabs and what else?" Rose asked sharply.

Hagrid was silent for a moment before muttering, "Manticore."

Rose groaned, "They aren't meant to exist Hagrid! They're dangerous, and they're going to kill each other and starve to death! Fire Crabs and Manticore's are too different!"

"But-"

"Hagrid… They're going to live miserable lives if you don't stop them now."

Hagrid's beetle-black eyes filled with tears and he sighed, "But I made 'em…"

"And as such if they're going to live miserable lives it's your job to get rid of them," Rose hugged the giant man to the best of her ability. "I believe you'll make the right decision Hagrid."

And with that, Rose walked off. Aelfric made an annoyed noise at the jostling movement of Rose climbing the sloping lawn.

"You have no excuses, Rose!" Aelfric suddenly yelled, as if in victory, and shot off of Rose's shoulder to flutter in front of her.

"I'm sure I do, but I don't know what you're talking about," Rose sighed.

"You are going to come into the forest in the next five days and meet anyone I deem important."

"And of those you don't deem important?" Rose quipped.

"Well… You'll decide then I guess."

Rose laughed and quickly assured the fairy that she would indeed visit him in the forest within the time limit he gave her before she rushed to scarf down food before making her way to Arithmancy.

"Rose!" Hermione called after her. "Rose!"

Rose turned around and watched as Hermione's satchel slapped into her side repeatedly, her feet slamming against the floor as she ran to catch up to her. Her chest didn't puff when she charged up to her, though, so Rose didn't worry too much.

"Yes?"

"I just didn't want to walk to class alone," Hermione said with a blush.

"Ah. Well, we'd best hurry, though. Still have to get there."

Their steps were quick and light, although Hermione was very sure-footed if the sound of her feet slapping against the stone was anything to go by. Rose's footsteps were lighter, her feet barely touching the ground before moving off the stone and pushing her forward with an almost skipping gait.

Professor Vector was already seated at her desk, and a few students from the other three houses sat around the room. Professor Vector's eyes sharply raised to take in Hermione and Rose before looking down at the papers in front of her again. Rose held the thought that her nose could probably cut the paper if she got much closer to the papers.

Hermione, of course, sat in the very front of the room. Rose, on the other hand, found a seat next to Terry Boot, who sat behind Hermione. She liked learning, she didn't hate the class, but she didn't care enough to be in the _front_ row. Second would be better for her.

Soon enough the class was full of chattering students pulling out their materials happily wondering what this class would be like.

"Welcome back to Arithmancy," Professor Vector said as she stood, silence suddenly taking over the room like a warm blanket. "It seems you all haven't left, and even better you didn't fail. I'm sure by now you all know how hard this class is, so I'll skip over all that. Now, for the time being, we're going to be focusing on statistical prognostication. Once I've decided we're done with that we'll work on using it for spell detection, analysis, and reversal. I suppose if you all perform higher than expected, which is doubted, we could even talk about how it's necessary for advanced astronomy and alchemy. Have I made myself clear?"

The warm blanket of silence suddenly felt stifling as the class took in what she said. Did she just challenge them?

"Now!" Professor Vector clapped her hands together and smiled widely, although no one could tell what she thought there was to smile about. "Miss Potter is going to tell us all what statistical prognostication is."

Everyone's eyes turned to her and Rose was suddenly flashing back to the very first class that she had experienced with Professor Vector. She sincerely hoped that she wouldn't be asked many more questions today.

"Well… Statistical prognostication is a form of divination, only using arithmancy. It's more accurate, typically, and you can answer questions much better with it. If you were to ask a seer what the result of a quarrel would be they may not be able to answer, it would essentially be conjecture. But with statistical prognostication you can come up with the most likely answer based off of the variables you know."

Professor Vector's eyes glittered for a second, "Yes, you're absolutely correct Miss Potter. Good scenario too, ten points to Gryffindor."

The pieces of paper Professor Vector was going over when they walked in were suddenly flying up to everyone, "This is a quiz. You're to answer all the questions. Based off of how the class does I may or may not count it on your grade. So, either all of you need to do poorly, or all of you need to do well. Considering who is in this class," her eyes landed heavily on Rose and Hermione. "I would recommend you all do your best."

Rose was very unsurprised that the test was honestly just arithmetic and basic algebra. many of the children still struggled with the higher maths even though Professor Vector had spent the last year teaching them. Rose and Hermione, along with some of the Ravenclaws were done rather rapidly, but everyone else took up all the time they were allowed. Rose sighed and shrugged when Terry looked at her with pained eyes.

Professor Vector waved her wand and saw that everyone had done well. "Next, you'll all take a test on numerology and probability."

And that was how the class went for the first hour. Algebra, geometry, how proficient everyone was in topics like basic spell crafting and spell reversal. She threatened to pull out the trigonometry and calculus tests when everyone started grumbling.

"All right class! Now that you've dealt with the test, I guess you can start reading your books and taking notes about statistical prognostication. I'll expect you all to at least vaguely know what you're doing next class."

Rose would be lying if she said she paid attention to the words on the page at all.

Page after page of information swarmed behind her eyes. _The Potter Castle is extravagant, even in the terms of Pure-Bloods, who normally settle on manors. There are five towers, one that is only accessible my members of the Potter family. Each wing of the castle hold twenty-eight suites, and the castle has one hundred and forty-five staircases all together. There's five potion labs, five greenhouses, one (large) kitchen, and a library. There are thirty-five house-elves just for Potter Castle._

 _In order to reach the Potter Castle, you would either have to floo in (Floo name is whatever the current Lady Potter decides it is) or Portkey, as it is unplottable and you can't just stumble across it. It is warded with Muggle-Repelling spells, Protego Horribilis, Protego Totalum, Protego Maxima, Anti-intruder jinx, Cave Inimicum, Fianto Duri, and Repello Inimicum among others. Most Potter properties are protected with the same spells, all except for Potter Cottage (Godric's Hollow) which was protected with a Fidelius Charm._

Perhaps there was more information in the Package that Gringotts sent her? She needed more. She needed to research more too. She needed… Oh Merlin she hadn't even thought about Meghan Paternus!

Maybe because then she'd have to think about Delco.

Was that who the letter was from that Galen brought her? If so maybe she didn't want to read it. Then a sharp pain struck her deep within her chest. One of her hands grasped the table in a white-knuckled grip in agony. A brief flicker of panic overtook her, what if there was no end to this sudden pain? What if it got worse? These thoughts alone were enough to get her heart racing faster, never mind the pain itself. For a moment, she thought about everything that would happen if she passed out, but she wasn't willing to find out if her conjectures were right. Perhaps it would be best to tell Delco and the Twins about this sudden pain.

That thought alone was enough to stop the pain.

Right. Sibling bond. Well, fuck him.

Her thoughts wandered back to Meghan Paternus again. Rose roamed back over her brief glimpse of the girl. Her browned skin, her coily black hair, and her deep blue eyes. Her robes, the traditional Hogwarts black robes, but with obnoxiously long sleeves. Was it a fashion statement? Or perhaps, if she really was Delco's, it was in an effort to hide scars from years of being a werewolf? Perhaps he had adopted her? Or maybe he had a ritual about young werewolves he hadn't told her? There were so many options, so many things that she had to think over.

The bell rang signaling the end of class and Rose was the first one out of the door. She took every shortcut she knew to get to her dorm. She occasionally checked her Map and avoided the Twins thoroughly before dashing up to her room and tearing the envelope open first.

 _Rose,_

 _Secrets are sometimes the only things that we are certain of in life. That being said, perhaps that particular secret didn't need to be kept from you. I promise that your ability to make friends with magical creatures isn't just because of this prophecy, it is also the fact that you are a beautiful person and that we genuinely want to be friends with you. If you have any questions or doubts about your prophecy, though, I will answer them all to the best of my ability, but I only have second-hand knowledge from Cian. Also, our bond was invoked because Magic decided that we were going to have it, not because I wanted to further myself. Our bond is special, you are special, and being your brother through magic doesn't make me any more special than any other Ultimate Alpha Werewolf._

 _Also, I have a Werewolf in that school at the moment. She decided that she wanted to go, and since I am, legally, her magical guardian (although honestly, I don't really take care of her) I allowed her to go with my last name. On the other hand, though, she'll need someone to look over her, I'm sure she'll be keeping her 'affliction' a secret, and having someone who knows will help her so much more than you know._

 _Also, maybe you can get her to shorten her sleeves. I know she's uncomfortable but I thought that was rather obnoxious honestly._

 _Yours in familial love,_

 _Delco_

Rose sighed and smiled slightly as she folded up her letter. Her rage at Delco dissipated immediately, and she hadn't realized how much of it she had been carrying around. She was humming quietly as she opened the package from Gringotts, but her humming abruptly stopped.

It was yet more papers, more paperwork, and a few items from the family vault. She flopped backward onto her bed and groaned loudly punching her pillow in aggression. She was fourteen, how was this _her_ problem?! Stupid twins being so stupidly irresistible and making it so they had a bond. The bond wasn't stupid, though, she liked the bond. She liked the twins. She loved the twins.

Speaking of the twins, it was dinner time! She rushed downstairs to see the twins in a near rapturous mood, though.

"What happened?" she asked as she sat between them and kissed each of their cheeks.

"The amazing, bouncing ferret," they said together, pushing the memory into her mind.

Rose shook her head and sighed. She didn't think he deserved _that_ much of a punishment, but she wasn't going to argue about it. "So, Professor Moody?"

"He's so cool," Lee Jordan said with giant eyes across from them.

"Beyond cool," said George.

"Supercool," said Fred. "We had him this afternoon."

"What was it like?"

Fred, George, and Lee exchanged looks full of meaning.

"Never had a lesson like it," said Fred.

"He _knows_ , man," said Lee.

"Knows what?" asked Rose, leaning forward.

"Knows what it's like to be out there _doing_ it," said George impressively.

"Doing what?"

"Fighting the Dark Arts," said Fred.

"He's seen it all," said George.

"'Mazing," said Lee.

Rose dove into her bag for her schedule, "I haven't got him until Thursday though!"

"You'll make it," Fred and George chorused, kissing her cheeks before finally letting her eat.

Rose smiled slightly as she ate. She still needed to talk to the twins about some things, like Potter Castle, if they were changing their names, their thoughts on _her_ future, and bank accounts, but she felt as if the world was finally starting to right itself again. Well, for the most part… The flashes of nightmares she had been having flashed in her mind's eyes, but with the twins on either side of her she felt safe, like nothing could touch her.

Not even the eyes of the man that she had killed in their defense.


	10. Chapter 10

Draco sighed as Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at him from over his steepled fingers. Didn't he know that he was still a student and doing these things were crazy if not suicidal?

"Sir, with all due respect, I'd have no way of going about this task. And on top of it, even though I warned you about the plans for the World Cup, you didn't do anything about it."

"Draco, my boy, I assure you, you are completely capable of this task. I know that I didn't do anything for the World Cup, but you can't always do important things in the open, can you? We have to act as if they've gotten the jump on us, no need to show our hand so early."

Draco groaned. No point indeed. He had warned Dumbledore because innocent people could have been - _were-_ hurt. It didn't help that he later found out that Rose had been there too. In fact, that was the main reason he was in the ancient wizard's office in the first place; he had seen Rose kill a man. Granted, it wasn't as if she hadn't had a cause, but she had _killed_ someone! When Draco had first come in here it had been his intent to tell Dumbledore about this, but when he mentioned that Rose was at the Cup too, Dumbledore's twinkling eyes seemed to flash with something, something that Draco didn't want to understand.

"The Phantom Isle isn't somewhere that I should just go on my own," Draco said with a small bite to his words.

"The Phantom Isle also isn't somewhere I can go. You'll just have to get stronger before you go there. You have a year."

Draco was about to protest but he knew when he was being dismissed, and that was as much of a dismissal as anything. He stood and left the office, heading to the dungeon. He just hoped that Rose was okay because he had seen something on her face before she had turned into an animal and killed a man and the fact that she could act like that terrified him. He wanted to make sure that she was okay, but he knew he couldn't talk to her. This was a burden those blasted Weasley twins would have to help her with.

It was their fault, anyways.

* * *

 _Triads, while not frowned upon in the Wizarding world, are exceedingly rare. True triads often never come forward as triads to outsiders, seemingly under the impression that they would be in immense danger if they were to come forward as being a true triad. This impression, however terrifying for the members of the triad, isn't wrong._

 _The history of triads is long and rich, but it is wrought with darkness and, oftentimes, immense pain for those who are members of the triad. Both good and evil forces try to take triads and claim their power as their own, believing that the triad's combined magical cores and minds make them nearly unstoppable, but also makes it so that they no longer need to be treated with basic humanity. All triads share the same weakness, a need to protect the other members. And this weakness is often exploited by those forces who wish to get their hands on the triads power. This is one of the reasons that triads are so rare, more triadic relationships would fall apart if one of them was in danger, as they wouldn't be able to go after the other member, but a true triad member would risk life and limb to save the other two._

 _Another reason that triads are so rare is that there is no sure way to create one. You can, of course, have a three-way relationship, but that does not make you a triad, which is a mistake that even the best of scholars can occasionally make. Triads are somehow formed, they are not a decision that the members make. For instance, if I were to say that I was dating two people, Rosalie and Roderick, that would not mean that I was in a triad. It could be said that I was in a triadic relationship, or a three-way relationship, but not a triad. Just because I made the conscious decision to be with Rosalie and Roderick doesn't mean that my magic and mind agree with the pairing as completely as I do._

 _You can almost always tell if it is a triad or a triadic relationship if you notice these things. First-_

"Excuse me?" a robust soprano voice said to Rose, interrupting her reading.

"Hmm?" Rose asked, struggling to tear her eyes away from the page, but also not being able to glean any information from it with the person asking for attention from her.

There was silence and Rose sighed before sticking in a bookmark and shutting the book. The cover, which clearly read _Animals and Their Habits,_ was facing upwards as she always left it when she closed it. If people knew what truly was in there they would likely question her relationship with the twins, and based off of the information the book told her she couldn't let that happen. Rose looked up at the girl that was standing in front of her and her eyes widened minutely.

"I'm Meghan Paternus," the girl said, holding her right hand out to shake Rose's.

"Rose Potter. It's nice to meet you, Paternus," Rose said, trying to be formal as she shook the younger girls hand.

"Just call me Meghan. I'm still getting used to the last name," Meghan said with a nervous laugh, and Rose noted the slightly-too-long canine's that the girl had.

Rose made a thoughtful noise and waved her hand so the girl would sit in the chair across from hers. The Common Room was nearly deserted, but she still wasn't going to just let the girl stand there. She realized with a start that she hadn't actually responded to her.

"Oh, sorry! I got a little distracted. You can call me Rose, too. And haven't you had the last name for a while? Or did he just make you take it before you came here?"

"He just made me take it before I came here. Rather annoying, but I'll live. It's a good thing that I'm used to paying attention when I hear it, though, because otherwise the Professors would be confused as to why I don't know my own last name."

"You'd be amazed at how little the Professor's care about stuff like that. Not many kids are used to being called by their last names all the time when they come here, so the Professors understand a small transition period."

Meghan nodded and nibbled on her lower lip, her eyes grazing over Rose, which allowed Rose to do the same. She had been right that the girl did look shockingly like Delco, but their skin and hair color was the only real similarities. She had a rather dainty face, but it was marred by the occasional scar, and her eyes were a deep blue, looking as if Rose had suddenly gone very deep underneath the water. Her hair was much larger than it had appeared to be from so far away, and it dwarfed her comically from up close. She was a bit tall for her age, but her frame felt bulky somehow, even while maintaining its slim stature.

Meghan coughed quietly and pulled down the sleeve on her left arm and blushed lightly, although it was hardly noticeable on her skin.

"I was told that I should talk to you," she admitted quietly.

"I was told the same. I imagine he's just trying to look out for you now that you won't be able to be with the pack all the time. Speaking of which, which pack are you from?"

Meghan shrugged and sighed, "I wasn't originally from a pack, but I was taken into the Steel Twilight pack."

Rose quickly racked her mind for any mention of the Steel Twilight pack, but didn't know anything about them, she was about to ask Meghan for more information when the girl yawned, and Rose's protective instincts kicked in, "Go off to bed Meghan. There are more classes for us all tomorrow, and you'll want all the sleep you can get."

Meghan smiled shyly and nodded as she stood up, "Okay. Can we talk again sometime?"

"Definitely," Rose said with a grin. "Just come talk to me whenever you want to."

Meghan nodded and walked up the stairs to her dorm room.

Rose opened her book and started to read again.

 _First, their power will suddenly elevate with no real cause. There hasn't been a triad under the age of twenty, so we don't know if the same would be true for those under that age. It is likely that for those under seventeen it would just appear like a magical growth spurt like many teenagers are liable to have._

 _Second, they'll all suddenly be very good at-_

"My word Rose, don't you ever stop reading that?" Lee asked as he plopped down across from her with a large grin.

"My word Lee, don't you ever stop annoying me?" Rose huffed.

"Touché. I just wanted to let you know that twins are inviting you to spend the night in our dorm."

Rose wondered idly why the twins didn't just ask through the link, but then she realized that she had been, like normal, completely ignoring them and that if they didn't ask in person it would be strange, "Well, I mean, I guess I can. It's not like I have anything else to do."

"It is only sleeping," Lee said with a wink and a broad grin.

"You saying that makes me much more nervous than I was originally."

Lee smirked and stood up, "I guess you should just go put on pajamas and bring some clothes for the morning then."

"Now I'm truly nervous," Rose said with a sigh as she stood.

"Good!" Lee said with a happy laugh as he charged up to his dorm, apparently to tell the twins that Rose would be coming up soon. She sighed and went up to her dorm, getting a bag and putting all of the extra things she had brought this year 'just in case' and putting them in there. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, sleep clothes, some uniforms, toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brushes; it all came with her. She slipped on a t-shirt that she had stolen from Bill that proudly said _I've stopped fighting my inner demons, we're on the same side now_ and a pair of very short shorts that Sarah and Victoria had gotten her on the trip-that-shall-not-be-mentioned. She then meandered her way up to the 6th year boy's dorm.

Rose opened the door silently and shut it silently too. She looked on at the twins who were pushing their beds together, and at Lee who was sitting cross-legged on his bed.

"… just saying guys, you need to have things girls are interested in too," Lee said matter-of-factly.

"Oh?" Fred grunted. "And what do you propose we do for them?"

"We could ask a girl," George offered.

"Who?" Fred said with a sigh as he finished pushing and stood up straight again.

"Well, I mean, you do have a girlfriend," Rose said with a wide smile as she watched the boys all jump.

"Rose!" all three of them yelled.

"Oh Merlin, what if I had been naked?!" Lee said with giant eyes.

"Then we would've had to kill you," Fred and George said as they went over and hugged Rose.

"Hello, boys!" Rose said with a laugh. "I've brought _everything_ I could possibly need for spending the nights in here. Mind if I go store it in your guy's bathroom?"

"They'll prank it," Lee warned.

"Then I'll prank them back," Rose said with a wide grin as she skipped into the bathroom and set all of her hygiene items where she would remember them, before skipping back and smiling broadly at all of the boys in the room. "So! Were we discussing things to do for girls? For your joke shop, I'm assuming?"

"Yeah," Lee agreed. "It's their joke shop, but I'm telling them they need things for girls. Girls aren't normally interested in 'gross' things."

"First of all, Lee, that's sexist. Second of all," Rose jumped onto the beds the twins had pushed together, "girls have _tons_ of interests. For instance; cute things, like animals, or boys, and, my personal favorite, revenge. Bear in mind, if we're getting revenge on a female we're very likely going to go for something appearance based, though. Oh! Candy would be awesome too. Maybe we could figure out how to get a nutrition potion into a candy and call it a 'meal on the go' or something along those lines."

The boys were all staring at her, and Lee was blinking rapidly even as Fred's and George's faces split into giant grins.

"You're the best!" the twins chorused as they each got on either side of Rose and cuddled up to her.

"Yeah, I know. Now it's time to sleep, though. We need to get onto a school schedule before we can mess it up again."

The twins nodded seriously but Lee laughed, "You think you'll mess up a school schedule? I've never met someone who likes sleep as much as you!"

"I can easily mess up a school schedule. One wrong nap and -poof!- there goes Rose's school schedule!"

"Yeah, Lee, it's hard to sleep when you need to," Fred said.

"Like not in classes-" George offered.

"Or not at the breakfast table-"

"Probably not while you're studying either-"

"Or stirring a potion-"

"Or in Care of Magical Creatures-"

"Okay, we get it," Lee said with a groan.

"Do you?" the other three chorused.

"Yes!"

The triad laughed and cuddled in together, feeling better than they had for a while. Rose, in a swift decision, opened up her memories of the paperwork she had been doing, or her bond with Delco, of her prophecy, and the bits and pieces that she remembered from the night that they bonded. As her memories flooded into the twins they all drifted into sleep, their bond marks flashing momentarily.

Dumbledore started pacing in his study.

* * *

"Rose, come on, it's time to wake up," Fred whispered into Rose's hair, which was trying to strangle him and his twin.

"You're time to wake up!" Rose groaned, still mostly asleep.

"That makes no sense," George said.

"You make so sense," Rose muttered petulantly.

Lee snorted from the other side of the dorm, "Well, she's got you there, George."

"Shut it, Lee," the three bond mates said at the same time.

Lee laughed as he moved into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

"Spitfire, come on," Fred muttered, pressing a kiss into her cheek.

"Listen, I won't sleep in here if you try to make me wake up in the morning."

"You need to be awake for school, Princess," George whispered into her ear, making her shiver.

"But…"

The twins waited for her to come up with more, but they knew that they had beaten her.

"I guess I can wake up. You both have to kiss me first, though."

The twins chuckled lightly and gently pressed kisses into her mouth before moving back far enough that she could stretch and wake up.

"What classes do you have today?" Lee asked when he came back in.

"I have History of Magic and Potions. I think I'm going into the Forbidden Forest after Lunch, though, I have a promise to keep."

"You're so weird," Lee muttered.

"Oi!" Fred and George yelled.

"Yeah, I am," Rose said with a smile.

Lee laughed and the twins got out of bed and helped Rose get out of the bed. She was wearing shorts and a tee-shirt she had stolen from Bill. Fred and George just rolled their eyes when they had seen it, used to her using all of the clothes that she had stolen from their brothers to wear to bed.

"I call the bathroom!" Rose said with a grin as she ran into their bathroom and got ready for the day.

Well, for the most part. She skipped out of the bathroom after she got dressed and held up a brush with a pout on her lips and shining eyes, "I… I really don't want to…"

Lee made a movement to take the brush but Fred beat him there, "I've got you, Spitfire."

He sat her down with her back to the edge of the bed and he stood behind her. He slowly got the tangles out of her hair (he got frustrated once or twice and made George finish the knots) but Rose's hair was done fairly quickly, and much nicer than she normally did it. She hadn't had to literally tear a knot out of her hair!

"Thank you!" Rose said with a broad grin and quickly kissed on each of their cheeks before she rushed off to grab her bag.

"She's cute in the mornings," Lee said with a grin.

"She's cute all the time," the twins said with large, sappy smiles.

"Well if I said that you'd beat me!"

"Definitely."

Breakfast passed with the blink of an eye, and History of Magic was just used as a time to braid her hair and sleep. Potions passed with only a minor glitch (Neville was awarded 'detention' for melting a cauldron in class) and then it was off to lunch.

"I'm not ready," Rose muttered into George's shoulder.

"Why not? It's not like you've never done it before," Lee said with a spoon pointed in her direction for emphasis.

She was silent. Then-

"Oh Merlin, you've never done it before!" Lee hissed in surprise, his spoon clattering to his plate.

"Shut up! Just because I'm in a relationship with the twins and the twin sister of Harry bloody Potter doesn't mean that I automatically have to do it!"

"But-"

"No but's! I've never needed to go into the Forest before, and I didn't really want to start doing it either!"

Fred and George's faces were red with suppressed laughter. "Yeah, Lee, you're not _supposed_ to force girls to do it!"

"Do you make a habit out of forcing girls?"

Lee and Rose's faces immediately turned red and Rose hit her head on the table. "I hate you all."

"You're both terrible," Lee said with a shake of his head, recovering much faster than Rose did.

"We know."

A green blur interrupted their conversation though as Aelfric sped in front of Rose. The people around them glanced at the fairy floating in front of Rose but didn't say anything. The only people who stared at the fairy in front of Rose were first years, and they were all hurriedly whispered to by upper-classmen.

"Rose! You have time today!" Aelfric whispered excitedly.

"How do you know that?" Rose said with a frown as she held her hand out so that the fairy could land.

"Well, I may have someone following you."

Rose was intensely curious. There were many creatures in the forest that could, logically, be small enough to follow her around. Bowtruckles, Nifflers, technically a salamander could follow her too (though it would risk being used as potions ingredients, or death, depending on what came first), _not_ a Porlock, there was a small chance that a fire crabs had escaped from classes and into the forest and created a pack of sorts over time, it could be a Knarl or a Kneazle. She hummed thoughtfully, staring at Aelfric with suddenly intense eyes.

Aelfric didn't react, except to turn and talk to Fred, George, and Lee.

Rose looked around the Great Hall. Bowtruckles, Nifflers, and Salamanders were out, they were either too small to get back to Aelfric in a timely matter, or they would be too distracted by shiny objects to remember to go back. A fire crab would be too noticeable, and it was likely that a student or teacher would bring it to Hagrid after assuming that he had lost it. That left a Knarl or a Kneazle.

A full Kneazle would draw a lot of attention, there would be girls around it, cooing, not realizing just how dangerous a Kneazle was. And a Knarl would be pitching a fit if someone offered it food… Rose was at a loss. Her eyes kept scanning the area, looking for anything that would be a clue. Then, an epiphany hit her like a ton of bricks and she gasped quietly, drawing Aelfric's attention back to her.

"You were using a house-elf!" Rose said with giant eyes.

"Duh," Aelfric rolled his eyes. "There was this one, she was really over-eager. Said she needed to watch over you anyways, and that she wasn't disobeying orders."

Rose groaned, "It was Zolsy, wasn't it."

Aelfric nodded his head eagerly, "Yep! That's her name! Threatened me real good too! Said if I irritated or harmed her master she'd to the same to me, but by tenfold! At least, I think that's what she said, she broke down into tears and she was really unclear."

Rose sighed, "You're much more trouble than you're worth, Aelfric."

Fred, George, and Lee all gagged on whatever they were eating or drinking, but Aelfric just laughed and nodded, "I know! I'll meet you outside the school!" and he zipped away.

"You just insulted a fairy," Lee whispered, his face pale.

"Don't be silly. He wasn't insulted at all, and if he had been I would've felt terrible."

Lee shook his head and Fred and George just kissed her cheeks, muttering about how they were in love with a crazy person, which made Rose's eyes light up.

"Speaking of crazy! We need to talk about what I told you yesterday! We'll do it later today, tomorrow at the latest. Okay?"

Fred and George nodded eagerly, "We agree."

"What do you guys need to talk about?" Lee asked.

"Important relationship stuff," they all said together.

"You're all weird," Lee muttered as he finished his food and got up, "I'm heading off to class. See you guys!"

"See you, Lee!" the other three said.

"If he's leaving you two should also. I'll keep in touch with you while I'm gone," Rose said with a wide grin as she kissed each of them before getting up.

"Yeah, we'll get to class. We eagerly await your return."

"You'll barely notice I'm gone," Rose said with a laugh as she walked away.


	11. Chapter 11

Rose stepped out into the Autumn air as she gathered Fred's hoodie around her. Aelfric was waiting impatiently for her at the bottom of the stone steps leading down from the school to the grounds.

"You took your time," the fairy huffed.

"You left quickly," Rose shot back.

"I didn't know you'd miss me so much!" Aelfric fake swooned.

"Oh, hush, you! Now, what's on the itinerary?"

"I-ten-ah-wary?" Aelfric asked.

"No. It's a schedule or agenda. Just a synonym."

"I love cinnamon!"

Rose sighed, "No. Synonym. It means a word that means the same as another word."

"Well, what word is it the same as?"

Rose groaned and just started walking to the Forbidden Forest. Aelfric quickly caught up to her and started happily talking.

"So, on the agenda today, you're going to meet with the Centaurs, the Winter Phoenix of the Forest, the thestrals, the hippogriffs, and you'll come and see the other fairies again! Maybe I'll even let you meet some knarls that we have or the fire crabs! They're very sparkly, but they don't like it when you try to take their sparkles away."

"Their sparkles are part of their shells, Aelfric," Rose said with a sigh.

"Well, why didn't they just tell me that?!"

"Have they ever talked to you?" Rose wondered out loud.

"No. But then again, not a lot of the creatures in the forest _talk_. Oh! We could go see Aragog! He's a giant spider, and he has all sorts of kids!"

"Acromantula?"

"Yeah! That's… Yeah!"

Rose shook her head as they entered the Forest. There was no beaten path, but there also wasn't grass that wasn't patted down. It appeared obvious to Rose that many creatures ventured to the edge of the forest, but none of them ever left the protection of the tree line.

"So, are we meeting with the Centaurs first?"

Aelfric bobbed his head happily, "Yep! They said they wanted to meet you! So you're going to meet them!"

Rose sighed, "I figured. Now, just lead the way. I'm going to remember everything I know about centaurs."

Aelfric sighed sadly, but happily chattered at Rose with nonsense, knowing she wasn't paying attention.

Rose knew that centaurs had a rich and complex culture, normally based on of their environment and their peculiar biology. Social ties are the most important things to centaurs because families are the core unit in which culture is passed from parent to child. It isn't uncommon for several generations to live in the same family group, like the group in the forest, and for children to be raised by the extended family or clan.

Speaking of family, centaur marriages were handled different ways in different clans. Most were monogamous between mare and stallion, but some allowed for one stallion to marry multiple mares. Centaurs are very loving and protective parents. Children are typically born a few years apart. Twice as many fillies are born as compared to colts. Centaur women remain fertile through middle age (typically around 100 years old) but males remain fertile their whole lives.

They pass on their cultural values through story and song, proverbs, and customs. Stories tend to have subtle morals woven into simple but compelling plots. They are hardly ever friendly to outsiders, though, especially if that outsider is a female. As there are more females in their culture, they didn't like that most other races thought of females as weaker, or less than, males. Rose is a female. What if they judged her off of her anatomy?

"You better be ready, Rose, we're almost there!" Aelfric said while tapping her cheek with his whole body.

Rose sighed and nodded, "I'm as ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

Aelfric giggled gleefully and grabbed her pointer finger on her left hand and 'dragged' her forward. Rose felt nervous, but she wouldn't let it show. She couldn't be perceived as weak in front of these beings. She took two deep breaths before she was suddenly in a clearing filled with centaurs. There were foals running around laughing gleefully, fires sparking and crackling underneath spits of meat, or cauldrons of liquids. Tents made of fur (at least from what Rose could tell) were put up around the area, some pregnant mares laying half in and half out of the shelters were yelling at the foals on occasion, and the stallions were doing miscellaneous tasks in the camp, some were playing with the foals, some cooking, some tending to mares, and some were walking around with bows and arrows on their backs.

Rose wasn't ready.

Aelfric, however, was. He put his hands up to his little mouth and screamed louder than Rose thought possible from him, "Presenting the one, the only, Rose Potter!"

Suddenly everyone's attention was on Rose. She felt her face burn and she bent slightly, more curving her back forward than anything. She knew that that was how centaurs bowed, and she was going to show them that she understood them. She heard the clopping of hooves and waited until they sounded close enough before speaking up, "Hello, noble centaurs. I am sorry for the intrusion into your home, but Aelfric told me that you wanted to meet me."

She heard some hushed whispers in the background before a male's voice spoke, "Stand straight, human Rose."

Rose stood up straight again only to be faced with the chest of a chestnut stallion. She tilted her head up to look at him but avoided eye contact so she wouldn't come off as aggressive or rude.

"We have indeed wanted to meet with you. I was not, however, aware that you were… Female."

A light gold mare made an insulted noise and stood quickly from her place half-way in a tent, her stomach distended as she was obviously with child, "Magorian!"

"Aylorn, this is not the time," a black bodied, black haired, wild looking centaur with a black beard said with disdain in his voice.

All of the Mares were stomping their hooves now, and an elder mare who looked shockingly like the black-bodied centaur trotted up to him before slapping the back of his head in pure rage, her eyes glittering like sapphires, "Bane! Show some respect! Aylorn is with child! With _Magorian's_ child; you have no right to tell her how to act."

"Mater," Bane whined as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just defending Magorian!"

"Yes, well, defending him is fine. Snapping at Aylorn, however, is _not_."

Rose was frowning slightly. Her mere appearance seemed to be causing problems within the clan. She bit her lower lip as she thought how to fix this problem, even while Aelfric giggled gleefully in her hair. The chaos made the fairy very happy, but Rose didn't like the fighting that was starting to build in the camp.

"I'm sorry," Rose said finally, drawing attention back to her and the maniacally laughing fairy. She turned her attention to Magorian, "I know I'm not _nearly_ intelligent as you are, being a human and all, but what is going on here?"

This seemed to appease most of the centaurs, but a white-blond centaur with astonishingly blue eyes didn't seem to like Rose very much.

"Well," Magorian said slowly, "as I understand it, we have fallen under the influence of Mars for a moment. My bonded, Aylorn, is not happy with my initial comments toward you, and Bane tried to defend me, but his mother, Zalath, would not let him treat Aylorn with the disrespect that he did. This caused minor conflicts throughout the clan to break out."

Rose nodded and smiled gently at Aylorn, her eyes sparkling with kindness and her cheeks pulled up in a giant grin, "How long have you been with child?"

"Ten moons. The young one could come at any time," Aylorn said with a wide smile, her eyes sparkling with happy tears. "This will be my first foal."

Rose gasped happily and clapped her hands together, "Oh! Congratulations to you!"

"Thank you," Magorian and Aylorn said with wide smiles at each other. Magorian then turned back to Rose, "Come into our camp, Rose Potter. You can meet the others in the clan."

Rose nodded and smiled gratefully as she moved further into the camp. Soon enough a small filly with her fire-red hair braided on either side of her head walked up to Rose. She was biting her lower lip nervously, her hands wringing in front of her. Soon enough she stood in front of Rose and took a deep breath before she just started talking, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Hi. I'm Freyna, I have a foal-mate, he was born at the same time as me. His name is Kyshon. We're the only ones here who was born with another. Do humans have foal-mates? We asked all the other Talker's if they had foal-mates and they said no. Non-Talker's sometimes has many foals together at once, though. What are human's like?"

Rose smiled slightly, "Well-"

Before she could answer, a mare came over, "Freyna! Don't go bothering our guest with your questions. I'm sure Kyshon can play with you, why don't you go play?"

Freyna's eyes filled with tears, and Rose's heart hurt for her, "How about I ask her first batch of questions and then she goes and plays? I know what it's like to be curious."

Freyna's mother's face seemed to relax and she smiled tiredly at Rose, "Alright. You heard her Freyna, after she answers these questions, off to play."

Freyna nodded her head eagerly before turning back to Rose, who smiled at the filly.

"To answer your questions, humans do have foal-mates, but we call them twins. I, myself, have a foal-mate. His name is Harry. Us humans normally only have one child at a time, but we can have many, sometimes up to eight. The more children there are, though, the more unlikely that the children will survive, because the mothers can't keep up with their needs, and they're very small when they're born."

Freyna nodded, her eyes wide, "I'm not alone? There are other… Twins?"

"You're not alone."

Freyna smiled brightly and hugged Rose tightly before she turned and shouted, "Kyshon! Kyshon, I want to talk to you!"

As she trotted away Aelfric sighed, "Harry isn't as fun as you."

"Don't I know it," Rose said with a sigh.

Aelfric and Rose stayed in the camp for a short while longer, getting to know Aylorn and Zalath a bit better before they made their excuses and left. Aelfric sighed as he led Rose away, muttering about how centaur hair was impossible to knot, unlike human hair.

"Where next, Aelfric?"

He didn't answer but it was apparent enough when they reached their destination.

"Thestrals," Rose said breathlessly as she looked at the herd of horses chewing on the grass aimlessly.

They were completely fleshless, their black coats clinging to their skeletons, of which every bone was visible. Their heads were dragonish, and their pupil-less eyes white and staring. Wings sprouted from each wither — vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats. Rose thought back to her Patronus and realized it was almost an exact replica of the real thing, except it was white.

"They're so…" Rose was speechless as she moved forward.

"Creepy?" Aelfric offered.

"Beautiful," Rose decided as she held out her hand to a thestral only to have it nuzzle into her hand. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she gently pet the thin beast. Others started coming up to her and nuzzling her and her face split into a giant grin. She could feel the curiosity pouring off of them in waves, although some of them were just hoping for food that she didn't currently have.

"You're so weird," Aelfric huffed as he fluttered above her.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any food at the moment," Rose said to the Thestrals that had gathered around her, "I promise I will the next time we meet, though. You all are so beautiful…"

Rose patted every single Thestral before Aelfric finally pulled her away. She couldn't stop grinning as Aelfric pulled her deeper into the forest, but she did soon start shivering. It was getting rather cold, although not in a terribly unpleasant way. She was still filled with the joy that she had after meeting the Thestrals, and it seemed to only get stronger the colder she got. Finally, Aelfric stopped moving forward.

"So… I know that your Headmaster Dumble-bore has a Phoenix up in his high tower, but I would like to introduce you to the Winter Phoenix of the Forest!" Aelfric said with a wide grin as he shot through some trees.

Rose followed him and was shown a large cave that glittered with slippery ice. A surprisingly large phoenix was sitting inside of it, watching Aelfric with baleful black eyes. In fact, it's eyes seemed to be the only dark thing about it. Its base color was an arctic blue, but some feathers were sky blue, white, or even cerulean. Its beak was gray where it connected to its head, but it slowly turned blue as it reached the tip.

The Phoenix's eyes were following the flying fairy around, and the only movement that it was making besides its eyes was the steady rising and falling of its chest.

"Hey, hey, hey! Winter Phoenix of the Forest! I brought you my Rose! Rose is cool! I like her, and so does everyone else! Well, I think everyone else likes her! And you're going to like her too! So meet her!"

The Phoenix was giving off a vibe of annoyance before heaving a great sigh and making his way towards Rose. He warbled quietly, a wavering note that made Rose's face split into a grin.

"Hello. I'm Rose Potter. It's nice to meet you."

The Phoenix blinked at Rose before huffing and moving away. Aelfric gasped.

"He doesn't like you!"

The Phoenix squawked in annoyance at the fairy, as if in rebuttal.

"Are you sure he just doesn't like you?"

The Phoenix warbled, filling the area with amusement, and letting Rose know he agreed with her, and not the buzzing fairy.

"Well that's just rude," Aelfric whined, floating between the two. "Here I was, doing my best to keep both of you happy by introducing you, but no. You're both going to be rude to me. Like, mean people. You're both mean people."

The Phoenix made a clucking noise that passed as a chuckle and Rose sighed, "Now, Aelfric, see sense. I'm not being rude to you, I just think you might be too fast-paced for him."

"And I think that he's too slow!"

The Phoenix fluffed up all his feathers like an insulted peacock.

Rose sighed, "You know, I don't think he's all that slow."

"And yet he'll never race me. He's too scared too."

There was an angry squawk from the Phoenix again and he flapped his wings at Aelfric.

"I think he just doesn't want to show off."

"Well tell him-"

"You realize he's listening right?"

Aelfric and the Phoenix huffed in annoyance before Aelfric spoke again, "Well if you don't want to show off just get over it and Race me! Whoever reaches Rose first from your cave wins!"

The Phoenix tilted his head to the side, seeming to measure the distance before his eyes got a devious glint and he squawked in agreement.

"Are you sure-"

"One two three go!"

Rose screeched as with a flash of light the Phoenix was right next to her, a full ten seconds before Aelfric reached her. Rose had her hand pressed firmly over her heart and took a deep breath before glaring at the preening Phoenix.

"That was rude. No warning, just _poof!_ Phoenix!"

The Phoenix gave her a look as if to remind her he couldn't talk before letting out a gentle warble and pressing his beak to her head. For a moment her mind felt uncomfortable, as if her brain was getting a really tight hug and then the warmth from the continuing phoenix song seeped through the strangeness and everything returned to normalcy. She hummed in contentment as the Phoenix, who she now somehow knew was named Vitality, gently preened her hair with his sharp beak.

"So not only did he win," Aelfric grumbled, "but he gets to mess up your hair? I'm not allowed to mess up your hair!"

" _Don't be stupid, Fairy,"_ a strange voice said in the back of her mind as Vitality momentarily stopped preening her. _"I am taking care of my little one."_

"He's not messing up my hair, Aelfric, and if he was I would stop him."

Vitality made a choking, clucking sound, and Rose recognized it as his version of a snort. She shot a glare at the proud phoenix before repeating, "Yes, I _would_ stop you."

Aelfric didn't seem convinced.

"Well, I hope you know you can't take him up to the castle with you. I think your Dumble-bore would be angry at you for having a phoenix."

"Sadly, I think you're correct. Vitality must stay here."

"Vital-a-what-now?"

"Vitality. It's his name."

"That's a stupid name."

" _As compared to Aelfric!"_ the voice that she knew was Vitality's said in her mind as the Phoenix let out a screech at the fairy.

"It's his name, don't make fun of it."

Vitality made a noise of contentment when Rose defended him and went back to gleefully preening her hair, occasionally stopping to nuzzle at her head. Rose frowned slightly as she thought about it, and she realized she'd be very sad if she had to leave her feathered friend alone all of the time.

"Vitality, is there any way that you could possibly do that flashy thing and come visit me every once in awhile? How far does the mind-talky-thingy work?"

"Mind-talky-thingy?!" Aelfric squeaked out.

" _It works as far as it needs to work, and yes I could come visit you with the 'flashy thing' as you call it. You would just have to tell me when a good time was for my visit."_

"I can do the mind-talky-thingy too?"

"What's the mind-talky-thingy?!" Aelfric squeaked again.

" _He annoys me,_ " Vitality noted.

"Be nice Vitality. And the mind-talky-thingy is exactly what it sounds like, talking through my brain. I think?"

" _You both annoy me,_ " Vitality corrected himself.

Rose sighed and shook her head, making the phoenix squawk and flap his wings at her, the wind it created messing up her hair again, making it so the phoenix didn't feel guilty when he settled down to preen it again.

"Listen, Vitality, we need to go," Rose said, looking up at the sky and noting how it was nearing dinner time. "I really appreciate your help with my hair and all, but I need to get back to the castle so I can eat dinner."

"You have to go already?" Aelfric whined as Vitality let out a sad warble.

"Yes, I have to go."

"Well… Since he saw fit to cheat maybe he can do the flashy thing to us to get you to the edge of the forest?"

" _It wasn't cheating, you never said I couldn't. And I suppose that that is a possibility if you'd be fine with it, my little one?"_

"I'm fine with it. And it technically was cheating, you didn't tell him you could do that."

"Yeah!"

" _It technically wasn't cheating, because he never said it could only be via flight."_

Rose sighed and decided it'd be best to avoid arguing schematics with a phoenix.

"Well, how do we do the flashy thing?"

" _Both of you must touch me. I will do the rest."_

"Aelfric, over here," Rose said. "Just touch him and he'll to the flashy thing."

Aelfric landed gleefully on Vitality's head, and Vitality plopped his head onto Rose's shoulder. With a flash, they were gone from the clearing. The flashy thing felt much different than apparition, or even portkey. It felt more like she was flying without having to move, it was like the wind was both pushing through her hair and staying still. It wasn't an uncomfortable experience at all, and Rose suddenly felt as if doing any normal mode of wizarding travel would be ruined for her for life.

They reappeared in the same little area that Rose and Aelfric had entered the forest at, and Rose realized that there was a little bit of frost on her shoulder where Vitality had been laying her head.

"Thank you so much, Vitality, I really must be going, though."

" _You're welcome, my little one."_

"Bye, Aelfric, tell the other fairies that I'm sorry I didn't visit them this time. I'll make sure that we visit before the end of the school year, okay?"

"Okay! Bye, Rose! I'll look after your blue chicken for you!"

" _Blue chicken?!"_ Vitality screeched.

"Goodbye, guys!" Rose said with a wave as she ran back up to the castle. She met Fred and George just inside the doors and hugged them both happily.

"So, we weren't really paying attention to what you were doing, so want to tell us all about your adventure?"

Rose smiled brightly, "Oh, I have so many things that I can tell you. But it will all have to wait until after dinner, as it stands, I'm starving."

The twins laughed as Rose dragged them into the Great Hall. Everything seemed like it would be fine for them, and they were extremely excited to see how the school year would play out, especially if the events kept coming at them as rapidly as it was right now. The twins and Rose happily laughed and made jokes all throughout dinner, and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

* * *

"Cordelia!" Cian yelled as he was racing around the castle. "Cordelia! Cordelia! Cordeli- _oof!_ "

Cian had run into Cordelia, who had braced herself for impact so she didn't fall, but Cian most certainly did.

"Read this! I told you- I told you she could do it!" Cian crowed from the ground, a slightly crumpled piece of parchment held between his fingers.

Cordelia sighed and snatched the paper from Cian's fingers, and started reading the parchment that had caused her king so much excitement.

 _Dear Cian,_

 _It is my pleasure to tell you that so far this schoolyear has been going exceedingly well. We were informed that the Triwizard Tournament is going to be hosted at our school (I'm not going to get into the details, as I'm sure you already know all about it) and in the mean time I've been exploring. Not often, mind you, but often enough._

 _Aelfric, the fairy you met, if you remember, took me into the Forbidden Forest yesterday (it's really not as bad as its name would make you believe) and I got to meet some… Creatures? Beasts? People? I'm not sure exactly what to call them. I know my government classifies them as beasts, but I don't think they really are. They aren't… beastly or anything like that. I think they're mostly misunderstood and misrepresented. You can't define the many by the few, and all of that jazz._

 _Sorry, I got a bit off track._

 _I got to meet the Thestrals, which was so much fun! They really are beautiful creatures. Aelfric says they're creepy, but I know that they're really not. They were so gentle, Cian! I got to pet each and every one of them, and they were all so calm, docile really._

 _I also got to meet the Centaurs that live in the forest! Magorian, the leader of the clan, wasn't too kind to me at first, but everyone warmed up to me pretty quickly once his wife spoke up and I almost got to watch a civil war. It was fascinating, honestly. I felt so blessed to be welcomed into their camp, and I met a little filly named Freyna. She apparently has a twin named Kyshon, and she was very happy that other creatures had twins too, although she called them foal-mates._

 _Oh! I also met the Winter Phoenix of The Forest! He was nice too, he did this thing (I call it the mind-talky-thingy but he resents that) that makes it so we can talk to each other! Granted, no one else can hear it, because it's in my head, but that's fine! Oh, and he also did the flashy thing (another name he resents. He's trying to get me to call it some nonsense like 'Phoenix Travel.' How stupid is that?) with me and Aelfric to get be back to the edge of the forest so I could get to dinner in time. I'm not sure that I ever want to travel any other way now, I think I've been spoiled for life!_

 _Anyways, so far those are the only adventures that I've had, and I hope that you haven't gotten into too much trouble either. I look forward to seeing you on our first Hogsmeade trip (whenever that is) and I hope Delco will be there too (yes that's pretty much telling you to take him with you to Hogsmeade of weekends, but don't tell him I told you to.) because I miss you both dearly. I hope you're not too bored without me to entertain you!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Rose_

Cordelia blinked slowly and frowned, "Already? She's _already_ friendly with the Stargazers? And a phoenix?"

"Yes!" Cian said with a whoop of joy as he was jumping around Cordelia before he gained back his professionalism and snatched the letter away from her. "I told you, I told you, Cordelia! She did it! She did it! She _is_ the prophecy child! At this point, it has to be her!"

"Okay… But how is she going to help us? It's not like she's all powerful."

"No," Cian agreed. "She isn't all powerful. But Rose Potter's greatest power is that no matter what size, no matter how significant, all living beings hold a part of her heart, and she loves them all the same. She's disillusioned by humans, I think, and with that in mind she will do everything in her power, and possibly some out of it, to take care of us 'beasts.' She wants us to be as happy and as safe as humans have the right to be."

"You're pathetically poetic when you're happy," Cordelia said with a roll of her eyes before she started walking off.

"Thank you!" Cian called after her.

"It wasn't a compliment!" she called back.


	12. Chapter 12

Remus and Sirius eagerly read over the letter they had received from Rose. Harry wasn't big on writing things down, but Rose could write novels to her guardians.

 _Dear Sirius and Remus,_

 _The school year has been rather 'normal' so far, if by normal I mean I've been into the Forbidden Forest already, and that the Triwizard Tournament is happening at Hogwarts this year. I thought that this year had the chance of being almost boring, but I was proved wrong again._

 _Oh, you want to know about the Forbidden Forest? Well, I guess I can tell you. No need to be so pushy. All that really happened is that I met the Centaurs, I got to pet some thestrals, and I met an Ice Phoenix. He's cool (Ha! Get it? Because he's an_ _ice_ _phoenix? Yeah, I know, I'm too funny.) but he and Aelfric (the fairy) got into a race, and Aelfric is apparently a sore loser._

 _Oh! I was also wondering if you both could send me a bag (nothing too fancy) with an undetectable extension charm on it? The thestrals are really thin, and I want to see if I can get them fattened up a bit. I guess it could also work with school and stuff like that, I could just stuff books in there. Ooh, books, how I love thee._

 _How are Gandalf and Victoria doing, by the way? Oh, and how is Faith doing, Remus? Well, honestly, I want to know how everyone is doing, so don't take too long with your reply! I want to know if anything fun or interesting has happened at the Abode lately, and you better tell me if it has!_

 _I love you both!_

 _Rose_

The two remaining Marauders sighed and sat back on the couch, leaning their heads against the back of their spots.

"She's okay," Sirius muttered.

"Are we not going to comment on the fact that she went into the Forbidden Forest?" Remus asked, tilting his head to the side so he could see Sirius, who was smirking.

"I am a bit disappointed that she told us. I mean, you're supposed to keep secrets, and I thought she was always better at that than Harry. But be careful, your Moomy is showing."

"Shut up, Dadfoot."

They laughed with each other before sighing as the memory washed over them. Some students at their school had apparently been making fun of them for not having a mother, and Rose had replied smartly with a _'Well I have a Moony, and that's twice as good as your Mommy is!'_ which of course Harry told them about. Sirius had laughed and called Remus Moomy for a while before Remus finally got tired of it and called him Dadfoot.

They were sitting their quietly before Remus piped up, "You know, you're getting your own kid, your own family."

"Yes, I am," Sirius said with a broad grin, not noticing the sadness in Remus's voice.

"You know, we never discussed what we would do if that happened… I'm fine if you want me to leave, Pads. You'll need the room, and I have the cabin still."

"Don't be stupid, Remus!" Sirius yelped as he sat up to stare at his friend in shock. "I would never kick you out!"

"Yes, but, you are getting your own family. And, by law, the twins _are_ yours, so you'd have to keep them, but you don't have to keep me. I know that I'm really more effort than I'm worth-"

Victoria chose that moment to come into the room. Sirius and Remus both tensed, expecting her to yell at the self-deprecating werewolf, but instead, she walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You're worth the world and more, Remus Lupin. I wish I could lay the universe at your feet, but I'm too weak to give you all that you deserve. I wish your jaded mind could see the beauty that is you like I do," she said with a gentle smile before pulling the shocked werewolf into a hug.

Sirius's face split into a grin as Remus's arms wrapped around Victoria. The yelling Sirius had done had never had any effect on him, and Sirius couldn't believe he had never thought of just talking to him. Somehow, though, he didn't think he would listen to it from him.

"We are so blessed to have you in our life, Tori," Sirius said with a grin.

"Don't call me that!" Victoria snapped as Remus moved her in between them on the couch.

"Well, what else is he supposed to call you?" Remus asked as Sirius slipped his arm around her shoulders.

"Babe, sexy, honey, gorgeous, or, even better, Victoria."

They all laughed together and relaxed. At least, they were relaxed until Victoria spoke up again, "Sirius, baby? I really want Peanut Butter and Pickles."

She was the only one laughing when Remus and Sirius simultaneously gagged.

* * *

Rose made it into the classroom with the distinctive clunking footsteps coming down the corridor, and leapt into the open seat next to Neville, not bothering to get her book out. She had barely calmed her breathing when Moody entered the room, looking as strange and frightening as ever. They could just see his clawed, wooden foot protruding from underneath his robes.

"You can put those away," he growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them."

The other students returned the books to their bags, and Rose looked at Neville. He looked very nervous.

Moody took out a register, shook his long mane of grizzled gray hair out of his twisted and scarred face, and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list while his magical eye swiveled around, fixing upon each student as he or she answered.

"Right then," he said, when the last person had declared themselves present, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures – you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?"

There was a general murmur of assent. Rose didn't make one, though, that would be admitting that Remus was a Dark creature.

"But you're behind – very behind – on dealing with curses," said Moody. "So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark –"

"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out.

Moody's Magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; Ron looked extremely apprehensive but after a moment Moody smiled – the first time Rose had seen him do so. The effect was to make his heavily scarred face look more twisted and contorted than ever, but it was nevertheless good to know that he ever did anything as friendly as a smile. Ron looked deeply relieved.

"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" Moody said. "Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago…. Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore…. One year, and then back to my quiet retirement."

He gave a harsh laugh and then clapped his gnarled hands together.

"So – straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking."

Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing Parvati her completed horoscope under the desk. Apparently, Moody's magical eye could see through solid wood, as weel as out of the back of his head.

"So… do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

Several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Ron's and Hermione's. Moody pointed at Ron, though his magical eye was still fixed on Lavender.

"Er," said Ron tentatively, "my dad told me about one…. Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?"

"Ah, yes," said Moody appreciatively. "Your father _would_ know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius curse."

Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around inside it. Rose sat up straight, her eyes on the jar. She could practically hear their screams for release, for freedom.

Moody reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders, and held it in his hand so that they could all see it. He then pointed his wand at it and muttered, _"Imperio!"_

The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a backflip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Rose closed her eyes tightly, imagining the pain the spider would be in at that moment, even as her classmates started laughing.

"Think it's funny, do you?" Moody growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

The cursed laughter died away almost instantly.

"Total control," said Moody and Rose shook as only his words washed over her, with her arms firmly closed. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats… Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse. Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will.

"The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching ou how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he barked, and Rose snapped her eyes open.

Moody threw the somersaulting spider into the jar, and Rose flinched.

"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?"

Hermione's hand flew into the air again, and so did Neville's. The only class in which Neville usually volunteered information was Herbology, which was easily his best subject. Neville looked surprised at his own daring, and Rose gently squeezed his thigh before putting her hands back in her lap.

"Yes?" said Moody, his magical eye rolling right over to fix on Neville.

"There's one – the Cruciatus Curse," said Neville in a small but distinct voice. Rose gasped, near silently.

"Your name's Longbottom?" he said, his magical eye swooping down to check the register again.

Neville nodded nervously, but Moody made no further inquiries. Turning back to the class at large, he reached into the jar for the next spider and placed in upon the desktop, where it remained motionless, too scared to move. Rose felt as if she were the spider, staring up at the gigantic form wielding the stick with mismatched eyes with fear as her only companion.

"The Cruciatus Curse," said Moody. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," he said, pointing his wand at the spider. _"Engorgio!"_

The spider swelled. It was now larger than a tarantula. Abandoning all pretense, Ron pushed his chair backward, as far away from Moody's desk as possible.

Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, _"Crucio!"_

At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body; it rolled over and began to twitch horribly, rocking from side to side. No sound came from it, but Rose was sure that if it could have given voice, it would have been screaming.

 _A red light hit George, causing him to fall screaming the whole time-_

"Stop it!" a shrill voice said.

Rose's eyes snapped open. Hermione and Harry were staring at her and Neville. She looked at Neville, whose hands were clenched upon the desk in front of him, his knuckles white, his eyes wide and horrified.

Moody raised his wand. The spider's legs relaxed, but it continued to twitch.

" _Reducio,"_ Moody muttered, and the spider shrank back to its proper size. He put it back into the jar.

"Pain," said Moody softly. "You don't need thumb screws or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse…. That one was very popular once too.

"Right… anyone know any others?"

Rose buried her face into Neville's shoulder, taking one of his fists into her shaking hands, begging silently for this class to be over.

"Yes?" said Moody. Rose wondered who raised their hand.

" _Avada Kedavra,"_ said Hermione's whispered voice.

Rose sniffled, and Neville wrapped an arm around her.

"Ah," said Moody. "Yes, the last and worst. _Avada Kedavra_ … the Killing Curse."

Rose didn't look. She could feel the air in the room turn heavy.

" _Avada Kedavra!"_ Moody roared.

Rose could still see the flash of blinding green light, she felt more than heard the rushing movement of the spell. It was as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air. Rose's cry of despair was only muffled by Neville's chest, his grip on her tightening.

"Not nice," Moody said calmly. "Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. There's no blocking it. Only two known people have ever survived it, and they're sitting right in front of me."

Rose felt the stares on her and knew they were staring at Harry too. Rose just buried her head further into Neville's too-soft chest.

She knew the words that had killed her parents now… killed her parents exactly like that spider that Moody had killed. Had they been unblemished and unmarked? Had they simply seen the flash of green light and heard the rush of speeding death, before life was wiped from their bodies?

Rose had pictured her parent's death for as long as she could remember. Wormtail had betrayed her parents' whereabouts to Voldemort, who had come to find them at their cottage. How Voldemort had killed Rose's father first. How James Potter had tried to hold him off, while he shouted at his wife to take Harry and run… Voldemort had advanced on Lily Potter, told her to move aside so that he could kill the kids… how she had begged him to kill her instead, refused to stop shielding her children… and so Voldemort had murdered her too, before turning his wand on them…

Rose knew these details because she had heard his parents' voices when he had fought the dementors last year – for that was the terrible power of the dementors: to force their victims to relive the worst memories of their lives and drown, powerless in their own despair…

Was Rose a victim now? Degraded to just one word?

Moody was speaking again, from a great distance, it seemed to Rose. With a massive effort, she pulled herself back to the present and listened to what Moody was saying while grounding herself on the sound of Neville's heartbeat, although it wasn't the ones that she desperately needed.

" _Avada Kedavra_ 's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it – you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed. But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it.

"Now, if there's no countercurse, why am I showing you? _Because you've got to know._ You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, and almost everyone jumped again, but Rose just didn't have the energy too, she was too numb.

"Now… those three curses – _Avada Kedavra,_ Imperius, and Cruciatus – are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice _constant, never-ceasing vigilance._ Get out your quills… copy this down…"

Rose spent the rest of class numbly taking notes on each of the Unforgivable Curses. No one spoke until the bell rang – but when Moody had dismissed them and they had left the classroom, a torrent of talk burst forth. Most people were discussing the curses in awed voices – "Did you see it twitch?" "- and when he killed it – just like that!"

They were talking about the lesson, Rose thought, as though it had been some sort of spectacular show, but she hadn't found it very entertaining – and nor, it seemed, had Neville.

Rose was still clinging to Neville when he had stopped halfway up a passage, staring at the stone wall opposite him with the same horrified, wide-eyed look he had worn when Moody had demonstrated the Cruciatus Curse.

"Neville?" Hermione said gently from behind them.

Neville and Rose looked around.

"Oh hello," he said, his voice much higher than usual. "Interesting lesson, wasn't it? I wonder what's for dinner, I'm – I'm starving, aren't you?"

"Neville, are you all right?" said Hermione, and Rose just laid her head on his shoulder again, both of them offering and getting comfort.

"Oh yes, I'm fine," Neville gabbled in the same unnaturally high voice. "Very interesting dinner – I mean lesson – what's for eating?"

Ron gave Harry a startled look.

"Neville, what-?"

But an odd clunking noise sounded behind them, and they turned to see Professor Moody limping toward them. All five of them fell silent, watching him apprehensively, but when he spoke, it was in a much lower and gentler growl than they had yet heard.

"It's all right, sonny," he said to Neville. "Why don't you come up to my office? Come on… we can have a cup of tea…."

Neville looked even more frightened at the prospect of tea with Moody. He neither moved nor spoke. Moody turned his magical eye upon Rose.

"You all right, are you, Potter?"

"Yes," said Harry, almost defiantly. They both know he hadn't been asking Harry, but Rose stayed silent.

Moody's blue eye quivered slightly in its socket as it surveyed Harry. Then he said, "You've got to know. It seems harsh, maybe, _but you've got to know._ No point pretending… well… come on, Longbottom, I've got some books that might interest you."

Neville was suddenly leaving her grip and Rose watched sadly as Moody steered Neville away.

"What was that about?" said Ron, watching Neville and Moody turn the corner.

"I don't know," said Hermione, looking pensive.

"Some lesson, though, eh?" said Ron to Harry as they set off for the Great Hall. "Fred and George were right, weren't they? He really knows his stuff, Moody, doesn't he? When he did _Avada Kedavra,_ the way that spider just _died,_ just snuffed it right-"

But Ron fell suddenly silent at the look on Harry and Rose's face. Rose left them when they reached the Great Hall and went to go sit between Fred and George, who immediately noticed something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Rose?" they asked as they wrapped their arms around her.

"Nothing. Eat," Rose muttered.

Lee sat down across from her, "Hey, Rose, what's wrong?"

"Nothing! Just… Eat," Rose muttered, thinking about how her parents couldn't. Neither could the man whose life she had taken for using the Cruciatus curse.

The three males exchanged glances and frowned. George and Lee went on eating, but Fred didn't know when to give up.

"Didn't you just have Moody's class?" he asked.

"Yes," she said tersely.

"Did you enjoy it? He showed us some pretty cool hexes, told us how to block most of 'em too."

"No," Rose growled. She was tearing apart her roll rather viciously.

Fred and George shared a glance and Lee frowned.

"I heard most of your classmates buzzing about it," Lee said.

Rose slammed her fists against the table and stood, ignoring the attention that she gained from the noise and her movement, "I am _not_ my other classmates."

Her hiss hung in the air for a moment before she angrily grabbed a chicken leg and stalked off.

She ate the chicken leg angrily as she walked to her destination. She knew there was only one place the twins couldn't reach her, and that was her dorm. Her dorm mates, however, might be gossiping in there, or at least they would be inevitably. Then, she remembered something.

"My trunk!"

She walked up to her dorm and quickly threw the top of her trunk open. Maple peered her head into the trunk with interest, and Rose couldn't blame her at all. She had organized it really well, after all. There were, essentially, ten separate doors inside the trunk, and she could access them with switches on the outside, but the one that she couldn't access from the outside was the one she needed. She hurriedly looked around the room, making sure no one was there before she tapped the top of the trunk with her wand and muttered, "Riddle me this."

A disembodied voice, charmed to sound exactly like Remus's spoke to her, "What belongs to you, but others use it more than you do?"

"Your name," Rose said.

There was a pause, "Correct. What can jump higher than a mountain?"

"Anything, mountains can't jump."

Rose was starting to regret the fact that they decided she'd answer three out of twelve riddles every time she tried to go to her secret room.

"Correct. I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am the confidence of all, to live and breath on this terrestrial ball. What am I?"

"Tomorrow. That is to say, the future."

"Well phrased," Remus's voice sounded proud. "Welcome, Rose."

A ladder appeared and Rose smiled slightly she paused before she started climbing in, though, "Coming, Maple?"

Maple leapt in with a swish of her bushy tail.

Rose sighed and smiled. Then she tentatively spoke again, "Zolsy?"

The house-elf popped up in front of her, smiling eagerly, "Yes, mistress?"

"Please retrieve my two-way mirrors, any and all homework I have, and my Jokester's Map. Bring it to my secret place, please."

Zolsy's eyes brightened, "Will mistress be letting me clean her secret place?"

The finally floated in the air between them and Rose smiled slightly, "Sure. Can you have Tibs make me something chocolatey too? I've been craving chocolate recently."

"Most certainly mistress!"

Rose smiled before shutting the lid of the trunk behind her.

She turned around to see Maple already staring at her in annoyance.

"Yes, I know this isn't the one you wanted," Rose said with a sigh before smiling at her beautiful companion. "I guess we'll walk there. I expect that Zolsy will at least take a whole minute."

Rose opened the third door to her left and let Maple walk in front of her. As they walked it seemed as if the world opened up around them, and the sounds of nature were apparent Rose smirked as Maple walked over, her tail high in the air, to a bunch of Kneazle's and she watched as some fire crabs scuttled around. She heard a splash in the pond and saw a Moon Salamander slapping its tail on the water, attempting to get a water lily to come within its reach. Birds were twittering in tree branches far above her head, and she could hear irritated bowtruckles chattering at each other. She knew if she walked farther in she would likely come across some deer, rats, rabbits or foxes, but she didn't feel the need to.

She smiled. The room was, essentially, entirely self-maintained, and those things that it couldn't handle on its own Zolsy would handle, or she would send one of the other elves to help if she was too busy. They often complained, or at least, Zolsy said they did, but they were happy to do the work. They were irritated that the animals that needed help wouldn't stay still, though.

That wasn't an issue for Rose.

In fact, now that she was paying attention, a lot of the motion that had been happening had suddenly stopped. She looked up and noticed the Kneazle's eyeing her, and fire crabs nowhere in sight. The bowtruckles were still making a little noise, but they sounded calmer. When she looked at the pond, the Moon Salamander was no longer there. She looked down at her feet, and she could suddenly see why.

Moon Salamanders weren't really known throughout the world, and Rose thought that was a shame. They were adorable little amphibians, but only someone the size of Hagrid could really get away with calling them small. They're about the size of a komodo dragon when fully grown. They have four legs and a long powerful tail. Their skin was soft and delicate and covered in a very thick layer of mucous, which is usually either dark silver, light gray, gray, light brown, or even a combination of the colors.

They rely on their sight and smell to get around, they do have tiny, almost hidden ears, but their hearing is poor. Their noses were almost snout-like (positively adorable) and their eyes always made them look so sweet. To make them even cuter (in Rose's eyes, at the very least) their heads were almost too big for their bodies.

This one was a female. She was covered with dark silver and light brown mucous, and her eyes were the color of grass. She had problems sleeping, though, which was why she was awake now. She was supposed to be nocturnal, but in their little world inside the trunk, the sun was still fairly high in the sky. Rose didn't know exactly how she had come to acquire such a beautiful beast, except that one day her guardians had told her there was a gift for her in her animal room.

"What are you doing awake, Bumpy?"

Bumpy just blinked her obnoxiously pretty eyes at Rose until Rose sat down on the ground with a sigh, "Now you listen here, little lady, I'm going to get in trouble if Zolsy sees that you've made a mess on me… So you'll just have to stay with me, got it? She thinks your eyes are too pretty to get mad at."

Bumpy bumped her head against Rose's palm and climbed up onto the small female's shoulders.

"Honestly," Rose huffed as she stood up, feeling the laughter of the other creatures around her. "You'd think that you don't sleep without me."

Rose would be lying if she said it was easy to get into her room with the giant amphibian on her shoulders, but she did it happily. She knew the room she was heading to was easier for Bumpy to sleep in, for whatever reason. She swung the door open and sighed gratefully when she realized Zolsy hadn't been there yet.

Rose looked around the room. It often changed appearance, but it never changed the meaning. This was Rose's calm room. Whatever the room decided she needed in order to calm down would often make its way there, if it had the capability of being there. Pictures hanging on the walls would change, the centerpiece of the room would change, and the only real constant was that there was always a bed, and always a place to sit and read because there were always books there too.

Looking around the room, Rose noted that this time there was a bunch of pictures of her parents on the wall, James and Lily Potter, and Sirius and Remus. She saw more than a couple of her and Harry and some of her and the Weasley twins too. The bed was there, done up in soothing green shades, and the books seemed to be about self-reflection. The 'place to sit' was, in honestly, a giant bed hooked up to the ceiling to make a giant swing, which would help her lull Bumpy to sleep. The room was dark, but it was lit by a giant fountain in the middle of the room, shaped like a heart, and little twinkling lights more than likely meant to imitate fairies.

"Alright, Bumpy. Listen up. Zolsy's gonna pop in soon and you're gonna behave when she gives me food! And… Ummmm… I don't know if anyone calls me through one of my mirrors you're gonna stay out of the way. No one knows about any of this, and if they do, they don't know all of it!"

Bumpy wasn't impressed by her statement, but she let Rose get her onto the swinging bed anyways.

Rose was about to ask the room if she could have a change of clothes or if she'd have to go get it (the magic of the room had limits, and with some of the things it did it would refuse to do others) but she heard a pop and a dismayed gasp from Zolsy.

"Zolsy, I can-"

"Mistress! You're dirty! Oh, I can't let you eat like that!" Zolsy was floating a personal sized chocolate lava cake behind her while she was clutching Rose's paperwork and mirrors to her chest.

"I really am sorry, Zolsy, but Bumpy-"

"I's be hearing enough about Bumpy!"

"Zolsy, really-!"

"Zolsy will be having to clean you."

"Zolsy, that's un-"

With a snap of her fingers (Rose didn't know how she maintained the floating cake) Rose was in pajamas and with another snap, Rose was thrown back into the swinging bed. Rose was about to start whining when Zolsy gave her the cake to shut her up.

"Now," Zolsy said with a sigh. "Mistress will be eating her cake." There was a snap and Rose's map, and mirrors flew into their places by her side, and a pillow was suddenly supporting her back. "Zolsy will be cleaning," another snap rent the air, and Rose's paperwork went to the room dedicated to it. "And Bumpy be sleeping."

The glare sent at the Moon Salamander who had been sniffing at Rose's cake had Bumpy sighing in defeat and laying her head on Rose's knees.

"Zolsy, I hope you know none of that was strictly necessary."

"And Zolsy hopes Mistress knows that Zolsy doesn't be needing to do that if Mistress is be doing it herself!"

Rose sighed and just started happily eating her cake, humming in contentment when the chocolate perfection hit her tongue. She knew that Zolsy, now having permission to clean this room, would feel emboldened and clean all of the others too, so she just let herself relax. She didn't need to think about paperwork, she didn't need to think about Moody's class, she didn't need to think about the World Cup, the Triwizard Tournament, or any other game in between. No curses were going to hurt her in this room. No one even knew how to get into the room.

No one to bother her. The empty plate and fork before her disappeared, but Rose couldn't bring herself to care. She wanted to lean backward and rest her head.

Bumpy crawled up to lay pressed against her side when she somehow managed to lay down. Rose hardly noticed when the bed started swinging.

"I'll wake you in the morning, Mistress," a distant voice spoke.

"Sing me a song, Moony," Rose murmured.

" _Oh, Rose, I'm rubbish at singing."_

"Sing…"

The tones of Remus's voice lulled her to sleep, Bumpy having fallen asleep beside her. Zolsy the house elf, however, would tell you a different story.

"Sing me a song, Mommy," her Mistress had muttered, before her own mostly-asleep hums pulled her into dreams.


	13. Chapter 13

"-if she was just out of the way!" a voice said, but it was muffled and distant.

There was a relatively high-pitched whine from her right, and Rose peeled her eyes open to see the obvious distress of Bumpy. She frowned, and cooed at her, not noticing that the voice stopped talking.

"You're okay, Bumpy. Go back to sleep," Rose said quietly, still cooing at the distressed amphibian.

Bumpy slowly calmed down again and Rose looked around to find the voice that had woken her up, only finding maple on her left side, curled up and purring proudly.

"Maple, where did you put my mirrors?" Rose said tiredly, her eyes closing again when she discovered no immediate threat.

"Under her!" two male voices said.

Rose jumped a little bit and sighed when she realized that Maple was purring louder, which meant that the two voices were right.

"Damn it. Fine. Okay. Maple, can you…?" Rose didn't need to finish her sentence, knowing that Maple understood the intent behind it. The happy purr suddenly stopped before Maple huffed and got off of her mirrors to just climb onto her legs.

She saw that one of her mirrors was lighted up, and after blinking blearily at it for a few moments she sighed and moved one of her leaden arms to first flop onto the mirror, and then to pick it up and lean it against Maple, who purred loudly again, likely just to disrupt the conversation. Once the mirror was leaning on Maple, Rose flopped her head back down and closed her eyes again.

"You have reached Rose Potter, animal lover extraordinaire. Rose is unavailable at the moment, but she'll gladly pretend to listen to your message after the hiss. Bumpy, if you'd please?"

Bumpy was asleep. Rose sighed in defeat.

"Never mind. Rose will gladly pretend to listen to your message after the meow. Maple, if you'd please?"

Maple hissed, and Rose snorted, "Asshole."

There was shuffling through the mirror, and then one of the two male voices started talking, "Rose, where are you? We checked our maps and it said your dorm, but when we asked Hermione she said you weren't in there."

"Yeah, if you have a secret way to control our maps at least let us have the same thing on yours!"

Rose snorted, slowly easing herself awake, "You honestly think I did that?"

"Yes!"

"Also, what's a Bumpy?" a voice in the background asked.

"Shut up, Lee!" the other two voices called.

Rose sighed and slowly sat up, looking around the room. The room was practically black with darkness, only the floating lights and fountains there to keep it so she could see.

"No, no," Rose sighed and grumbled, "damn it! Bumpy, wake up! It's night time, you asshole! You're supposed to be awake!"

There was a chuffing noise from Bumpy, who used her tail to hit the bottom of Rose's foot before settling in again.

"Shit! Maple, wake her up!"

Maple's exasperated stare made Rose back up.

"Wait, what _is_ a Bumpy?" the voices she was more than aware were Fred and George's chorused.

"Bumpy is _mine_ thank you very much but Bumpy needs to be awake!" she shoved Bumpy's side, but Bumpy just moved farther away from her, hissing in frustration.

"Damn it! Why are the both of you being so touchy tonight?!" Rose groaned as she glared at Maple and Bumpy.

"Us?" Fred and George asked.

"No! Them!"

"Who's them?"

"Not you!"

"Maybe we could help?"

"Bugger off!"

There was a moment of silence before Lee whistled and Rose groaned again, "Damn it, not like that. You just can't reach me here. Anyways, ZOLSY!"

With a louder than normal pop, Zolsy appeared in front of Rose, "Yes Mistress?"

"Help!"

"Zolsy can't be helping Mistress if Mistress isn't being telling Zolsy what Mistress be needing help with."

"Buggering hell is that a house elf?!"

"Go away, Lee!" the twins yelled again.

"Zolsy, I need you to get Bumpy to wake up."

"Mistress, Zolsy is thinking that Bumpy bes needing all the sleep she can get."

"But it's night time!"

"Zolsy thinks that Mistress is fighting a losing battle. But Zolsy would gladly be bringing Bumpy to her nest?"

"No! No, no, Bumpy is more than fine with me."

"Is Mistress being needing anything else? Kreature is bothering one of the children."

"No, just turn on one of the lights, please. Not the super bright one."

"Okay, Mistress. Mistress should sleep again. So should Misters Fred Wheezy, George Wheezy, and Lee Jordan."

"Holy shit it knows my name!" Lee said, and there were two thumps that Rose assumed was two pillows hitting him.

"We'll work on that, Zolsy. Good luck with Kreature, and thank you."

"Mistress is very welcome!" with a clap of her hands, causing a rather dim light behind Rose to pop on, and a pop of apparition, Zolsy was gone.

"Where are you?" the twins once again asked. "Why can't we reach you?"

"I'm in my secret place, thank you very much. I'll have you know I'm perfectly safe, and I am still in the castle."

"But why are you in your dorm on our maps?" Fred asked.

"Well, I am technically in my dorm," Rose offered.

"How are you in your dorm if you're not in your dorm?" George asked.

"Guys, you just really need to think about it. I won't outright tell you," Rose sighed. "Geez, first you wake me up and now you pester me for my whereabouts?"

"Rose," they both groaned.

"We were just-" Fred started.

"- worried about you and –" George continued.

"- your wellbeing. We wanted – "

"- to make sure that whatever –"

"- was bugging you at dinner wasn't bugging you now," they finished together.

"The sentiment is appreciated, guys, but I'll figure it out. If it helps I'll tell you guys what's wrong?" Rose was too tired to realized what information she was offering up.

"Please!"

"Well, Moody showed us the three unforgivable curses. Used 'em on spiders. Imperius, Cruciatus, and Killing. I didn't watch the killing one, could hardly stomach the Cruciatus, of course. It was just a bunch of circumstances, of course. Anyways, like Zolsy said, we should all get some sleep."

"But-"

"Good night, guys! I love you, Fred, I love you, George, I don't hate you, Lee."

"Hey!"

"We love you too," the twins said with sighs of exasperation.

Rose cut the connection and yawned. She was tired again, and Bumpy had moved back into her side. Rose put her mirror down on her right side and looked at Maple, who was still on her legs.

"Hey, Maple. You can lay on the mirrors again."

Maple looked at Rose as if she was ashamed of Rose for suggesting such a terrible thing but quickly moved over to lay on the mirrors again before Rose could revoke her permission. Rose got comfortable on the bed and yawned as she looked around. Zolsy quietly popped in, apparently thinking Rose would still be on the mirror call and frowned at Rose.

"Oh, Zolsy was just coming to tell Mistress that Mistress had to stop the talking. It's time for sleep."

Rose laughed and smiled at the protective house elf, "Make my bed swing, please, Zolsy, and turn off the light you turned on."

Zolsy nodded, giving Rose a toothy grin before turning the light off and making the bed swing, "Be sleeping well, Mistress."

"You should sleep too, Zolsy."

"Zolsy is growned, she doesn't be needing sleep like little Mistress Rose."

"I'm not little!"

"Good night little Mistress."

Rose groaned when Zolsy popped out of the room before Rose could snap at her. She closed her eyes again, and let the sound of the fountain drag her off to sleep.

Rose did her best to not think about her problems for a while. She would sit down nightly, read over some paperwork, then relax with the twins for thirty minutes before going to bed in her trunk. She was always out of the trunk before the other girls were awake, and she was just working her way through her day to day life. Her lessons were becoming more difficult and demanding than ever before too, particularly Moody's Defense Against the Dark Arts.

To their surprise, Professor Moody had announced that he would be putting the Imperius Curse on each of them in turn, to demonstrate its power and to see whether they could resist its effects, and Rose immediately opened her mind to the twins to let them know what was happening, but warned them she would close it when it was her turn.

"But – but you said it's illegal Professor," said Hermione uncertainly as Moody cleared away the desks with a sweep of his wand, leaving a large clear space in the middle of the room. "You said – to use it against another human was –"

"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like," said Moody, his magical eye swiveling onto Hermione and fixing her with an eerie, unblinking stare. "If you'd rather learn the hard way – when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely – fine by me. You're excused. Off you go."

" _But he's not doing that for us?"_ Fred pointed out in her mind.

" _That seems strange,"_ George agreed. _"Maybe we should tell Dumbledore?"_

" _Too late now, boys. It's starting. I'm going to disconnect, I'll tell you how it goes."_

They begrudgingly disconnected and all three of them blocked each other to be certain the curse wouldn't bleed over onto them. Moody began to beckon students forward in turn and put the Imperius Curse upon them. Rose watched as, one by one, her classmates did the most extraordinary things under its influence. Dean Thomas hopped three times around the room, singing the national anthem. Lavender Brown imitated a squirrel. Neville performed a series of quite astonishing gymnastics he would certainly not have been capable of in his normal state. Not one of them seemed to be able to fight off the curse, and each of them recovered only when Moody had removed it.

"Potter," Moody growled, pointing at Harry, "you next."

Harry moved forward into the middle of the classroom, into the space that Moody had cleared of desks. Moody raised his wand, pointed at Harry, and said, _"Imperio!"_

Rose was waiting to see Harry completely embarrass himself. He bent his knees, as if to leap. The next thing that happened was horrifying to Rose. Harry had both jumped and not jumped at the same time, and had smashed headlong into a desk, and knocked it over.

"Harry!" she gasped.

"Not that's more like it!" growled Moody. "Look at that, you lot… Potter fought! He fought it, and he damn near beat it! We'll try that again, Potter, and the rest of you, pay attention – watch his eyes, that's where you see it – very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'd have trouble controlling _you_!"

Harry had to go through the same ordeal three more times until he could just shrug the spell off, and then Moody's eyes turned gleefully to Rose.

"You next."

The class was silent. Rose looked at Moody, to her twin who looked worse for wear, and heard Misty the Black Jaguar swear vengeance. Her smile was almost as sadistic as Moody's as she stood up, the class suddenly feeling as if was being electrically charged. She walked into the middle of the room and bowed slightly mockingly toward the grizzled man.

"Hit me with your best shot."

Moody's eyes flashed with the challenge, _"Imperio!"_

Rose felt a momentary floating sensation before she was catapulted back to the present and frowned at Moody, who was asking the class what he should do with her.

"Nothing, sir."

All of the student's eyes shot to Rose in shock. Moody frowned in concentration.

"Don't talk," he growled.

"I'll talk all I want to sir. I'm not Imperiused."

Moody's frown deepened. _"Imperio!"_

Rose felt as if she was floating again before she was again shot back into her mind she winced a bit, feeling as if her brain was throbbing, she shook her head and sighed, "Sir, I told you to hit me with your best shot. Are you too tired for this?"

Moody looked as if he'd explode for a moment before he grinned, "Well, class, it seems that both Potters can beat the spell. Weasley, you next."

And on the class went, Rose was frowning thoughtfully as the class continued and finished, she vaguely heard that they should read up on the Imperius Curse but decided it wasn't worth it. With her other classes workload and all of the Goblin inflicted work she had to do, she wasn't going to just add more on unnecessarily. She had some transfiguration to do (explaining the idea behind turning a hedgehog into a pincushion) and she had Ancient Runes to translate, and explain why exactly they used ancient runes instead of modern languages.

Professor Binns, who taught History of Magic, had them writing weekly essays on the goblin rebellions of the eighteenth century. Professor Sigurdsson was forcing them to research antidotes, claiming that she could definitely poison all of them without their knowledge (no one was nervous about her doing it though) and that she would like them all to be prepared for idiots who accidentally got themselves poisoned. Professor Flitwick had asked them to read three extra books in preparation for their lesson on Summoning Charms.

Even Hagrid was adding to their workload. They had to choose a creature that hadn't been covered in class and explain everything about it. Rose, of course, had already finished this assignment and had even gotten the Moon Salamander stamp of approval. Hagrid had swooned when she turned it into him and begged to meet the Moon Salamander. Rose wavered and promised she would do her best to let him meet her, but that Bumpy wasn't used to any other human. Hagrid, who had still been moping a bit about his Blast-Ended Skrewts immediately cheered up.

Not only that but in a weeks time, on Friday the 30th of October, the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were going to arrive for the Triwizard Tournament. The news had a marked effect upon the inhabitants of the castle. During the following week, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where Rose went: the Triwizard Tournament. Rumors were flying from student to student like highly contagious germs: who was going to try for Hogwarts champion, what the tournament would involve, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from themselves.

Rose noticed too that the castle seemed to be undergoing an extra-thorough cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subjects, who sat huddled in their frames muttering darkly and wincing as they felt their raw pink faces. The suits of armor were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and Argus Filch, the caretaker, was behaving so ferociously to any students who forgot to wipe their shoes that he terrified a pair of first-year girls into hysterics.

When they went down to breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts House: red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H.

Fred, George, and Rose were sitting at the Gryffindor table, separated from the rest of the Gryffindors, at Rose's request. She didn't feel the best about the tournament, and she didn't want the twins getting any more ideas for entry.

"You know, with all these banners up they're acting like the guests will forget where they are," Rose noted.

"Rose, you haven't talked to us at all about your lessons with Moody," Fred said in irritation.

"That's a bummer," Rose muttered.

"It's a bummer, all right," George said. "But if you don't talk to us, we'll have to get you to talk to someone else. You can't avoid it forever."

"Who's avoiding what?" said Ron, as he sat next to George and the other members of the Golden Trio settled in too.

"Wish you'd avoid us," said Fred, looking irritated at the interruption.

"What's a bummer?" Ron asked George.

"Having a nosy git like you for a brother," said George.

Rose giggled and smiled affectionately at her own brother, who she didn't normally classify as a git.

"You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet? Thought any more about trying to enter?" Harry asked, and Rose realized that her brother was, indeed, a git.

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling," said George bitterly. "She just told me to shut up and get on with transfiguring my raccoon."

"How aggressive of her," Rose muttered as she leaned her head against Fred's shoulder.

"Wonder what the tasks are going to be?" said Ron thoughtfully. "You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff before…."

"Not in front of a panel of judges, you haven't," said Fred. "McGonagall says the champions get awarded points according to how well they've done the tasks."

"Who are the judges?" Harry asked.

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel," said Hemione, and everyone besides Rose looked at her, rather surprised, "because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792 when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage."

She noticed them all looking at her, and Rose spoke up, "Come on, guys, it's all in _Hogwarts, A History._ If you would all just read on occasion."

"I can read you like a book, is that enough?" George said with a smirk.

"Disgusting," Harry murmured.

"So is your face," Rose shot back.

Before the Potter twins could get into a real argument, the post owls arrived, Galen and Hedwig among them. Harry eagerly tore his letter open once it was off Hedwig's leg, but Rose only opened the letter after she gave Hedwig Harry's bacon rinds, and gave Galen some sausage that he had decided he wanted.

She opened the letter and smiled, sincerely, for the first time in what felt like forever.

 _Dear Rose,_

 _Your normal school year is, of course, by no means normal. We are very disappointed that you went into the Forbidden Forest and had the gall to tell a former Professor about it. Even if that Professor is your Moomy._

Here, the writing changed, and Rose knew that it was now Remus writing.

 _Sorry, Rose, we're not disappointed at all. Your Godfather has been rather ornery lately. I looked up Ice Phoenix's, and it's very surprising that there's one that close to Hogwarts, especially because they normally live in tundras._

 _Also, we will not be getting you a bag like that. You need to be able to do something besides galavant with creatures all day. Also, Faith is doing well, she's currently doing some sort of work for Delco._

The writing changed again.

 _Gandalf and I are doing fine, too. I'm going a bit stir crazy because Sirius has been smothering me, but Sarah occasionally kidnaps me so I'm doing well in that regard. Nothing fun or interesting has happened at the Abode lately besides preparing the baby's room; or in my case, watching Sirius struggle to prepare a baby's room._

 _We all Love you!_

 _Victoria_

 _Remus_

 _Sirius_

Rose laughed for a second and shook her head, "Sirius is struggling with the baby's room."

"Big surprise," everyone said at once.

There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. When the bell rang half way through potions the Gryffindor's all hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall.

The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines.

"Weasley, straighten your hat," Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron. "Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

Parvati scowled and removed a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait.

"Follow me, please," said Professor McGonagall. "First years in front… no pushing…"

They filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest. Rose, standing next to Hermione in the fourth row from the front, saw Dennis Creevey positively shivering with anticipation among the other first years.

"Nearly six," said Ron, checking his watch and then staring down the drive that led to the front gates. "How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?"

"I doubt it," said Hermione.

"How, then? Broomsticks?" Harry suggested.

"Don't be daft," Rose said with a sigh. "We're wizard's Harry. They've got to show off _somehow._ "

They scanned the darkening grounds excitedly, but nothing was moving; everything was still, silent, and quiet as usual. Rose was freezing, and bouncing slightly to keep herself warm, wishing the twins were next to her so she could use them for warmth.

And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers –

"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

"Where?" said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions.

" _There!"_ yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest.

Something large, much larger than a broomstick – or, indeed, a hundred broomsticks – was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.

"It's a dragon!" shrieked one of the first years, losing her head completely.

"Don't be stupid… it's a flying house!" said Dennis Creevey.

Dennis's guess was closer. As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit, they saw a gigantic, powder blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.

The front three rows of students drew backward as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed – then, with an almighty crash that made Neville jump backward onto a Slytherin fifth year's foot, the horses' hooves, larger than dinner plates, hit the ground. A second later, the carriage landed too, bouncing upon its vast wheels, while the golden horses tossed their enormous heads and rolled large, fiery red eyes.

Rose was bouncing and grabbing Hermione's hand eagerly, "Those are Abraxan Winged Horses! Oh Merlin, oh Merlin!"

A door on the side of the carriage opened and a boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully. Then Rose saw a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage – a shoe the size of a child's sled – followed almost immediately, by the largest woman she had ever seen in her life. The size of the carriage, and of the horses, was immediately explained. A few people gasped.

Rose had only seen one person as large as this woman in her life, and that was Hagrid; she doubted whether there was an inch difference in their heights. Yet somehow – maybe simply because she was used to Hagrid – this woman (now at the foot of the steps, and looking around at the waiting, wide-eyed crowd) seemed even more unnaturally large. As she stepped into the light flooding from the entrance hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face; large, black, liquid-looking eyes; and a rather beaky nose. Her hair was drawn back into a shining knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.

Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too, many of them standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this woman. Her face relaxed into a gracious smile as she walked forward toward Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand. Dumbledore, through tall himself, had barely to bend to kiss it.

"My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.

"My pupils," said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.

Rose, whose attention had been focused completely upon Madame Maxime, now noticed that about a dozen boys and girls, all, by the look of them, in their late teens, had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind Madame Maxime. They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads. From what Rose could see of them (they were standing in Madame Maxime's enormous shadow), they were staring up at Hogwarts with apprehensive looks on their faces.

"'As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.

"He should be here any moment," said Dumbledore. "would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"

"Warm up, I think," said Madame Maxime. "But ze 'orses –"

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them," said Dumbledore, "the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other charges."

Rose frowned. Hagrid had gotten rid of the Skrewts, what could he possibly be dealing with?

"My steeds require – er – forceful 'andling," said Madame Maxime, looking as though she doubted whether any Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts could be up to the job. "Zey are very strong…"

"I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job," said Dumbledore, smiling.

"Very well," said Madame Maxime, bowing slightly. "Will you please inform zid 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?"

"It will be attended to," said Dumbledore, also bowing.

"Come," said Madame Maxime imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.

"How big d'you reckon Durmstrang's horses are going to be?" Seamus Finnigan said, leaning around Lavender and Parvati to address them.

"Well, if they're any bigger than this lot, even Hagrid won't be able to handle them," said Harry.

"There aren't any bigger than the Abraxan variety, guys," Rose said, her eyes still trained on the horses. "They'd have to go to another species to get bigger than these."

They stood, shivering slightly now, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Most people were gazing hopefully up at the sky. For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by Madame Maxime's huge horses snorting and stamping. But then –

"Can you hear something?" said Ron suddenly.

Rose listened; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from out of the darkness: a muddled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner were moving along a riverbed…

"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"

From their position at the top of the laws overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water – except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks – and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor….

What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool… and then Rose saw the rigging…

"It's a mast!" she said to Hermione.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide toward the bank. A few moments later, they heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank. People were disembarking; they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes. All of them, Rose noticed, seemed to be built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle… but then, as they drew nearer, walking up the lawns into the light streaming from the entrance hall, she saw that their bulk was really due to the fact that they were wearing cloaks of some kind of shaggy, matted fur. But the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort: sleep and silver, like his hair.

"Dumbledore!" he called heartily as he walked up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied.

Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entirely hide his weak chin. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own.

"Dear old Hogwarts," he said, looking up at the castle and smiling; his teeth were rather yellow, and Rose noticed that his smile did not extend to his eyes, which remained cold and shrewd. "How good it is to be here, how good…. Viktor, come along, into the warmth… you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold…"

Karkaroff beckoned forward one of his students. As the boy passed, Rose caught a glimpse of a prominent curved nose and thick black eyebrows. She immediately recognized the profile as Victor Krum's.


	14. Chapter 14

"I don't believe it!" Ron said, in a stunned voice, as the Hogwarts students filed back up the steps behind the party from Durmstrang. "Krum, Harry! _Victor Krum!_ "

"For heaven's sake, Ron, he's only a Quidditch player," said Hermione.

" _Only a Quidditch player?"_ Ron said, looking at her as though he couldn't believe his ears. "Hermione – he's one of the best Seekers in the world! I had no idea he was still at school!"

"Well," said Fred and George, coming up behind them. "It's not as if he's saved the world or anything."

Rose and Harry laughed at Ron's fish-out-of-water impression.

As they recrossed the entrance hall with the rest of the Hogwarts students heading for the Great Hall, Rose saw Lee Jordan jumping up and down on the soles of his feet to get a better look at the back of Krum's head. Several sixth-year girls were frantically searching their pockets as they walked –

"Oh I don't believe it, I haven't got a single quill on me –"

"D'you think he'd sign my hat in lipstick?"

" _Really,"_ Hermione said loftily as they passed the girls, now squabbling over the lipstick.

" _I'm_ getting his autograph if I can," said Ron. "You haven't got a quill, have you, Harry?"

"Nope, they're upstairs in my bag," said Harry with a shrug.

"We haven't got any quills either," said Rose and the twins before Ron could ask them.

"But it you want I could lend you some lipstick," Rose said with a wink, making everyone laugh at Ron's bright red face.

They walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down. Ron took care to sit on the side facing the doorway, because Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students were still gathered around it, apparently unsure about where they should sit. The students from Beauxbatons had chosen seats at the Ravenclaw table. They were looking around the Great Hall with glum expressions on their faces. Three of them were still clutching scarves and shawls around their heads.

"It's not _that_ cold," said Hermione defensively. "Why didn't they bring cloaks?"

"They wouldn't be as physically attractive that way," Fred and George said together, earning a snort from Rose.

"Over here! Come and sit over here!" Ron hissed. "Over here! Hermione, budge up, make a space –"

"What?"

"Too late," said Ron bitterly.

Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students had settled themselves at the Slytherin table. Rose could see Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle looking very smug about this. As she watched, Malfoy bent forward to speak to Krum.

"Yeah, that's right, smarm up to him, Malfoy," said Ron scathingly. "I bet Krum can see right through him, though… bet he gets people fawning over him all the time…. Where d'you reckon they're going to sleep? We could offer him a space in our dormitory, Harry… I wouldn't mind giving him my bed, I could kip on a camp bed."

Rose and Hermione snorted.

"They look a lot happier than the Beauxbatons lot," said Harry.

The Durmstrang students were pulling off their heavy furs and looking up at the starry black ceiling with expressions of interest; a couple of them were picking up the golden plated and goblets and examining them, apparently impressed.

Up at the staff table, Filch, the caretaker, was adding chairs. He was wearing his moldy old tailcoat in honor of the occasion. Rose was surprised to see that he added four chairs, two on either side of Dumbledore's.

"But there are only two extra people," Rose and Harry said.

Harry continued without Rose, "Why's Filch putting out four chairs, who else is coming?"

"Other judges?" Fred and George asked.

"Maybe," Rose hummed. She turned to George, "Hey, can I spend the night in your guy's dorm tonight?"

"Why ask him?" Fred pouted.

"Because he'll think before he says yes," Rose said with a grin.

"Maybe," George said, cutting off the intake of breath from his twin. "We were working on a potion, and I'm not sure if tonight would be the best night. We'll tell you if that changes."

"I know," Rose said with a grin, although she had deflated slightly.

Fred gently kissed her cheek and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him while glaring at his twin for daring to turn down Rose time. Said twin just raised his eyebrows and shook his head in amusement at Fred's antics.

"Now listen, Fred, it's fine to say no," Rose said. "He's just making sure I can't possibly get hurt if you two explode something."

"We wouldn't explode something!"

"No?"

"Well, not if you were there…"

Rose laughed and shook her head, ready to answer, but the staff started filing up to the top table and taking their seats. Last in the line were Professor Dumbledore, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime. When their headmistress appeared, the pupils from Beauxbatons leapt to their feet. A few of the Hogwarts students laughed. The Beauxbatons party appeared quite unembarrassed, however, and did not resume their seats until Madame Maxime had sat down on Dumbledore's left-hand side. Dumbledore remained standing, and a silence fell over the Great Hall.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and -most particularly – guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

One of the Beauxbatons girls still clutching a muffler around her head gave what was unmistakably a derisive laugh.

"No one's making you stay!" Hermione whispered, bristling at her.

"You tell her, 'Mione!" the twins whispered back, making her blush.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

He sat down, and Rose saw Karkaroff lean forward at once and engage him in conversation.

The plates in front of them filled with food as usual. The house elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dished in front of them than Rose had ever seen at once, including several that were definitely foreign.

"What's _that_?" said Ron, pointing at a large dish of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding.

"Bouillabaisse," said Rose and Hermione.

"Bless you," said Ron.

"It's _French_ ," said Hermione, "I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice."

"I'll take your word for it," said Ron, helping himself to black pudding.

"We won't!" the twins chorused and happily helped themselves to some of the stew.

Rose hummed as she helped herself to some of the Bouillabaisse too, and looked around the Great Hall. It seemed somehow much more crowded than usual, even though there were barely twenty additional students there; perhaps it was because their differently colored uniforms stood out so clearly against the black of the Hogwarts robes. Now that they had removed their furs, the Durmstrang students were revealed to be wearing robes of a deep blood red.

Hagrid sidled into the Hall through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the start of the feast. He slid into his seat at the end and waved at Harry, Ron, Rose, the twins and Hemione with a bandaged hand.

"Doing all right, Hagrid?" Rose called.

"Ya bet I am," Hagrid called back happily.

Rose smiled at her friend and gently kissed Fred and then George on their cheeks. They both turned to grin at her, and were about to talk when a voice said, "Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?"

It was the girl from Beauxbatons who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech. She had finally removed her muffler. A long sheet of silvery-blonde hair fell almost to her waist. She had large, deep blue eyes, and very white, even teeth.

Ron went purple. He stared up at her, opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out except a faint gurgling noise.

"You can have it," Rose said with a smile as Harry pushed it closer to the girl.

"You 'ave finished wiz it?"

"Yeah," Ron said breathlessly. "Yeah, it was excellent."

The girl picked up the dish and carried it carefully off to the Ravenclaw table. Ron was still goggling at the girl as though he had never seen one before. The twins started openly mocking him, and Harry and Rose laughed. The sound seemed to jog Ron back to his senses.

"She's a _veela!_ " he said hoarsely to Harry.

"Of course she isn't!" said Hermione tartly. "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot!"

Rose rolled her eyes as the twins started counting how many people were watching the girl across the hall, and Rose quietly commented, "You're both not entirely wrong. More than likely, she's at least part veela."

"When you've put your eyes back in," said Hermione to Ron, cutting over the twins who were still counting, "you'll be able to see who's just arrived."

She was pointing up at the staff table. The two remaining empty seats had just been filled. Ludo Bagman was now sitting on Professor Karkaroff's other side, while Mr. Crouch, Percy's boss, was next to Madame Maxime.

"What are _they_ doing here?" said Harry in surprise.

"They organized the Triwizard Tournament, didn't they?" said Hermione. "I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start."

"I'm sure there's more than that," Rose muttered.

"Impartial judges my arse!" Fred and George huffed.

When the second course arrived, they noticed a number of unfamiliar desserts too. Ron examined an odd sort of pale blancmange closely, then moved it carefully a few inches to his right, so that it would be clearly visible from the Ravenclaw table. The girl who probably had veela blood appeared to have eaten enough, however, and did not come over to get it.

"Do you want dessert, Rose?" Fred and George asked her.

"I do," Rose said with a nod. "But I don't want to move."

Rose had managed to get the twins to move in closer to her, and she was practically sitting on both of their laps. She was tired, at this point, and she just didn't want to have to move her arms in order to eat the food.

"We'll feed you!" the twins chorused, their ears turning red at the memory of the last time they had fed her.

Rose laughed for a moment before smiling, "I have to sit on George's lap this time, it's only fair."

Fred groaned but allowed her to move so she was more firmly on George's lap.

"This is disgusting," Harry said with a fake gag.

"Just wait, Harry, one day you might get a beautiful girl on your lap," George said with a smirk as he buried his head into Rose's neck.

"Just hope you don't have to fight over her," Fred grumbled.

Rose laughed and smiled, "I don't think he knows anyone who would willingly share with him."

"Or the other way around," the twins both said with a smirk.

Rose laughed again, "What's my dessert going to be?"

The twins got devious smirks on their faces, but the playful glare Rose shot at them calmed them down a bit, "Well, do you want cake?"

"Hmm," Rose said, leaning her head against George's, which was buried into her neck again. "I actually want something fruity."

Fred paused as he thought, and George moved his head so he could have eye contact with his twin before nodding and sticking his nose back into the curve of Rose's neck where her shoulder and neck met.

Fred grabbed a bowl and spoon as Rose was being distracted by George, he filled it with summer pudding and as an afterthought a bit of whipped cream. He smirked as he watched Rose giggle and try to get George to leave her neck alone, and he shook his head with a smile at the other two members of his relationship. He poked George's side to tell him that he had the food.

"Fine," George said with a sigh as he pulled back. "Whatever perfume you're wearing, Rose, it smells really good."

Rose blushed slightly, "I'm not wearing perfume."

George smirked, "No wonder it smells so good."

Rose laughed and looked at Fred, noticing the soft look in his eyes, but not mentioning it. "So! What's my dessert?"

"This is," Fred said, holding up a spoon with some of the summer pudding and whipped cream on it.

"Great! Ahh," Rose opened her mouth happily.

"You're so spoiled," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes as Rose got fed.

"She deserves to be," the twins chorused as Rose happily ate.

Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. The twins maneuvered Rose back between themselves. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now. Rose felt a slight thrill of excitement, wondering what was coming. Fred and George were leaning forward, staring at Dumbledore with great concentration.

"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket –"

"The what?" Harry muttered.

Rose shrugged.

"- just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation" – there was a smattering of polite applause – "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than for Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likable. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced. Remembering him in his neat suit at the Quidditch World Cup, Rose thought he looked strange in wizard's robes. His toothbrush mustache and severe parting looked very odd next to Dumbledore's long white hair and beard.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."

At the mention of the word "champions," the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen. Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students; Dennis Creevey actually stood on his chair to see it properly, but, being so tiny, his head hardly rose above anyone else's

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways… their magical prowess – their daring – their powers of deduction – and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

At this last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody seemed to be breathing.

"As you know, three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore went on calmly, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: The Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore now took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.

Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to everyone in the Hall.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.

"To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," said Dumbledore, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

"An Age Line!" Fred said, his eyes glinting, as they all made their way across the Hall to the doors into the entrance hall. "Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name's in that goblet, you're laughing – it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!"

"But I don't think anyone under seventeen will stand a change," said Hermione, "we just haven't learned enough…"

"Speak for yourself," said George shortly. "You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry?"

Harry didn't answer.

"Where is he?" said Ron, who wasn't listening to a word of the conversation, but looking through the crowd to see what had become of Krum. "Dumbledore didn't say where the Durmstrang people are sleeping, did he?"

But this query was answered almost instantly; they were level with the Slytherin table now, and Karkaroff had just bustled up to his students.

"Back to the ship, then," he was saying. "Viktor, how are you feeling? Did you eat enough? Should I send for some mulled wine from the kitchens?"

Rose saw Krum shake his head as he pulled his furs back on.

"Professor, _I_ vood like some vine," said one of the other Durmstrang boys hopefully.

"I wasn't offering it to _you_ , Poliakoff," snapped Karkaroff, his warmly paternal air vanishing in an instant. "I notice you have dribbled food all down the front of your robes again, disgusting boy –"

Karkaroff turned and led his students toward the doors, reaching them at exactly the same moment as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Rose. Harry stopped them to let Karkaroff walk through first.

"Thank you," said Karkaroff carelessly, glancing at him.

And then Karkaroff froze. He turned his head back to Harry and stared at him as though he couldn't believe his eyes. His eyes flickered to Rose, too, but Fred and George blocked her from view. Behind their headmaster, the students from Durmstrang came to a halt too. Karkaroff's eyes moved slowly up Harry's face and fixed upon his scar. The Durmstrang students were staring curiously at Harry too. Rose saw comprehension dawn on a few of their faces. The boy with food all down his front nudged the girl next to him and pointed openly at Harry's forehead.

"If you're not going to continue walking, sir," Rose said, pushing through the twins with venom in her words, "then politely _move aside_ so others can pass."

Karkaroff stared at Rose, strange emotions flickering across his face as some of his students gaped at Rose for speaking so rudely to their headmaster.

"Yeah, these are the Potter's," said a growling voice from behind them.

Professor Karkaroff spun around, and Rose stiffened. Mad-Eye Moody was standing there, leaning heavily on his staff, his magical eye glaring unblinkingly at the Durmstrang headmaster.

The color drained from Karkaroff's face as Rose watched. A terrible look of mingled fury and fear came over him.

"You!" he said, staring at Moody as though unsure he was really seeing him.

"Me," said Moody grimly. "And unless you've got anything to say to the Potters, Karkaroff, you might want to move. Miss Potter was right, you're blocking the doorway."

It was true; half the students in the Hall were now waiting behind them, looking over one another's shoulders to see what was causing the holdup. Rose smirked at Karkaroff, knowing he had to move with Moody there.

Without another word, Professor Karkaroff swept his students away with him. Moody watched him until he was out of sight, his magical eye fixed upon his back, a look of intense dislike upon his mutilated face.

RPRPRPRPFWFWFWFWGWGWGWGW

" _Rose!_ " Fred's voice in her head called. _"George say's we're in the clear and you can come spend the night! Lee agreed too!"_

" _How are we explaining me knowing that?"_ Rose asked.

" _We're just going to say we have a secret means of communication and if he asks any more questions we'll tell him to leave us be,"_ said – thought? – George.

Rose nodded her head, but then remembered they couldn't see her. _"Sounds good. I'm bringing my trunk. See you in a minute!"_

" _Wait – why?"_

Rose didn't answer their question.

" _Windgardium Leviosa!"_ Rose said as she aimed her wand at her trunk. The trunk shuttered and rose slowly into the air, but Rose frowned and lowered it again.

"No, that'll raise too much attention…"

She remembered that Sirius had once told her it was shrinkable, but not if it was only shrinkable via the spell, or if there was a secret way to make it smaller. She bit her lower lip and sighed, knowing she was wasting time and that she might as well start trying anything to get it to shrink.

"Shrink," Rose said, tapping the top of the trunk with her wand.

The trunk did nothing.

"Damnit… Ummm…" Rose turned any and all dials flipped any and all latches and groaned when none of them did anything.

"Listen, I can't drag you down the stairs because you'll shake and it'll disturb the animals, so if you could just _work_ with me! Please shrink!"

The trunk gave a shudder before it shrank down in size, so it was pocketable.

"Really? You just wanted me to ask nicely? You're inanimate!"

The trunk gave an ominous rumble, and Rose held up her hands, "Fine. You're not inanimate."

The trunk made no movements or sounds.

"Look at me, I've gone bonkers, I'm talking to a trunk!"

She picked the trunk up and held it in her hand, not putting it in her pocket because her steps would jostle it. She hummed as she walked down the stairs and up to the boy's dorm, no one commenting or even watching as they were used to this behavior by now. She knocked lightly on the Sixth-year boy's dorm.

"Come in!" three voices called.

"Hey, she knocked this time!" Lee said as she opened the door.

"Yes, I did. My trunk just taught me that I should be nicer."

"Your _trunk?_ " the three boys chorused.

"Yes, my trunk. Now!" she pointed at the twins who immediately looked panic stricken. "I'm going to make my trunk bigger, then us three are going in and Lee is staying out."

"Of course you're only letting them into your trunk," Lee muttered petulantly.

"Oi!" the twins yelled.

"Not like that!" Lee yelled with his hands above his head as the twins tackled him.

Rose sighed and put her miniaturized trunk on the ground and frowned, "Please grow."

The trunk immediately grew to its regular size. Rose smiled slightly and moved a dial to the room that she wanted before she opened the lid of the trunk, ignoring the yelping and growling that was going on behind her.

"Alright you hooligans, I'm sure he gets not to accidentally make innuendos again. So, stop beating on your best friend and get into the trunk!"

Fred and George leapt off of the, thankfully, not injured Lee and mock saluted Rose, "Yes Ma'am!"

They both got into the trunk and climbed down the latter and Rose sighed tiredly, "We'll be back by morning, and if we're not they died and I'm just hiding."

"Ain't that optimistic," Lee said with a smirk that quickly dropped off his face when he saw she was semi-serious.

"If you need anything tap the top of the trunk three times. If you slam onto it, I will never forgive you and you will feel my wrath."

Lee held up his hands, "Oh-kay! No wrath needed here!"

Rose nodded her head and went down the latter into her trunk.

After she hopped off the latter she looked around at the entryway that surrounded her. She bit her lower lip and sighed as she looked around for the twins. They weren't all that far away, just a little bit farther into the 'room' and they were looking around in shock. Rose understood why they were staring around.

The inside 'room' was more of a house. It felt much like a cabin wood, with its wood floors, and slanted ceiling on one side, but Rose knew better. She glanced over at the stairs, also wooden, but carpeted, that lead upwards, and knew that they went up two levels. The room they were standing in, at the moment, was Rose's least favorite room, though. It was only there for people to walk through, and she didn't like how unnecessary it was, even if the pictures that lined the walls made her smile.

"Want to look around a bit?" Rose asked as she walked up to them. "I can give you a tour if you'd like?"

"What _is_ this place?" Fred asked as George kept looking around.

"Well, it's… Okay. So it's sort of a house? But it isn't? I mean, I haven't found it in any of my other rooms, it moves around, so I don't know exactly-"

"Any _other_ rooms?" George said, shock marring his face.

"You know, in any other circumstances I'd be very proud of myself for shocking you two, but you're not even shocked because of me!"

"I don't know," Fred said with a smirk. "Some of these pictures are shocking."

His eyes had just landed on a wizarding picture of Rose being thrown into the air by a laughing Delco. The hair on picture Rose's head was flying around her, and she was laughing happily as she fell back into Delco's arms. They shared a moment's smile before they saw where the camera was and glared before the loop started over again.

"I don't think any of them are shocking. I just don't think you've seen them all. Personally, this one's my favorite," she motioned to a picture that had been taken of the twins and Rose at Rose's last birthday party while Fred fed her cake.

George and Fred laughed, smiling at the picture, "I doubt you brought us here just to show us pictures."

"Well," Rose frowned slightly. "You're right of course. I mean, showing you pictures is fine and all, but I had other plans. I thought about introducing you two to Bumpy, but Hagrid would cry if you two meet her before he did. Maybe you guys want to see the living room? Or I could even show you guys the bedroom? I mean, I planned on showing you guys the bedroom anyways but I –"

George pressed his finger onto Rose's lips as he smiled at her.

"You talk too much when you're nervous," Fred said. "At least sometimes. Other times you just don't talk."

"Your rambling is adorable," George said with a smile, removing his finger from her lip to run his hand against her cheek. "But I can think of other things your mouth could do rather than talk."

Rose's face went bright red before George's lips slanted over hers and she melted into his chest, loving the feeling of security that his arms gave her. When he pulled away he rested his forehead against hers and smiled gently, "Feel better?"

Rose laughed breathlessly and smiled, "Yeah. Much better."

George moved back but kept an arm wrapped around her. Fred was watching intently and smiled, "So, what's this about showing us around?"

"I was going to show you around the house," Rose said with a smile as she leaned onto George, "and then I wanted to talk to you both."

Fred and George hummed thoughtfully, "About that stuff you let us see, yeah?" Fred asked.

"And about Moody?" George continued.

"And about the Triwizard Tournament," Rose agreed.

They both nodded, "Well, let's skip the show and tell for the moment and just skip to the talking, yeah?"

Rose blushed and laughed, "Hopefully somewhere that's nicer than here!"

"Lead the way, fair maiden!"

Rose smiled and removed herself from George's grip to walk over to the stairs and start walking up them. The carpet still sunk a little under her feet, making her smile happily. She walked up the first flight of stairs before just going straight down the hall to the door at the end, hearing the twins whispering about their surroundings behind her. She opened the door to the master bedroom of the house.

"Woah," the twins breathed behind her.

Woah didn't cover it.

The walls were cream colored with golden trimmings. The floor went from being carpeted back to being wood, a polished dark walnut. The wall to the right had two doors on it, one that was made almost entirely out of glass and lead to a balcony outside. The other Rose wasn't entirely sure what it lead to but based on the lack of dressers of closets she reckoned that it led to a closet.

There were bookcases lining the left wall, along with a door that was wide open and lead to the bathroom. The farthest wall had a fireplace, but no smoke entered the room even though the flames flickered merrily. In front of the fireplace sat two chairs and a couch, all a deep brown color.

There was a circular step up in the middle of the room that was holding a giant four poster bed, definitely big enough for three. The blankets were a deep brown with gold and black designs imprinted onto them, and the curtains were a light cream color.

Rose's face was slightly red as she felt to arms wind around her, both attached to a different twin.

"Did you set up this room?" George asked, his breath fanning across her face.

"For the most part, yes."

Fred hummed thoughtfully and kissed her neck, "And you just want to _talk_ in here?"

"Well – I mean – that doesn't… I don't… Maybe?" Rose was becoming flustered under the attention of both twins.

Fred and George both shared a smirk, "Well, tell us everything really fast and then we'll figure out the rest."

They were slowly leading her into the room as words rushed out of her, "I have a prophecy about me, and that's why magical creatures like me so much! I am officially an adult, so are the both of you, in the eyes of the ministry and the Goblins. I was the only one told because I'm technically the leader of House Potter now! Delco and I share a sibling bond so I was supposed to talk to him about it too but I didn't want to tell anyone. Harry doesn't know yet either! Ummm… I'm friends with an Ice Phoenix… Oh, and Moody really freaks me out, the Imperius Curse doesn't work on me, and I really, really, _really_ don't want you two to honestly enter the Triwizard tournament!"

Fred and George laughed quietly against her throat, and Fred spoke, "Even though we already know a way past the age line?"

"Definitely! I don't like the idea and I don't want you two to get hurt because then where would I end up?" tears filled her eyes. "I mean, I know logically if one of you were chosen it would only be one but then there'd only be _one_ of you and that's wrong! So, if you could _pretend_ to enter that'd be great!"

The twins paused and both moved so they stood in front of Rose, "Wait, you don't want us to enter because you don't want us to get hurt and just leave you with one of us?"

"No! I mean, yes, but not entirely…" Rose looked down, ashamed of herself. "It's just… If you guys honestly _wanted_ the money I could just give it to you… And if one of you… Just imagine how the other would react! There would only be _one_ Weasley twin and that's _wrong_. And! If one of you got in and only got hurt, but it was _serious_ everyone would be able to tell the two of you apart! That's my job!" Rose couldn't help but to stomp her foot.

Fred and George shared an exasperated glance before Fred swept Rose up into his arms and carried her – despite her squirming – to the couch at the other side of the room, "Don't you think that's up to us to decide?"

"Oh, because you've decided to let _so many_ people tell you apart!" Rose huffed as Fred plopped her into the middle of the couch.

"No, what he means," George said as he sat on Rose's left and Fred sat on her right, "is that isn't it up to us to decide if we're willing to risk it?"

"No. You're Gryffindors, you do stupid things."

They snorted, "You're a Gryffindor too, Spitfire."

"Yeah, well I'm more rational than your average Gryffindor."

"She's smarter than the av-er-age bear!" Fred and George mocked.

"You don't even know where that's from!" Rose said while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't need to. We just need to convince you that you're being stupid about this whole thing. We won't seriously enter, but you could've just talked to us about it," George said as he kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, you need to open up more, you are absurdly protective over your secrets. You don't need to keep secrets, we wouldn't do anything to hurt you," Fred said as he started playing with the bond mark on her right wrist after pulling her arms apart.

"We're yours, Princess, we'll never hurt you." George took Rose's left wrist and traced the mark there with his fingertips.

Rose shuddered lightly, "You two know what that does to me," Rose groaned.

"It brings your defenses down," Fred muttered.

"That's what we're banking on," George said as he leaned his head down so his lips were brushing against her ear.

Rose laughed breathlessly as all her muscles started to relax and her worries seemed to wash away, "I swear, if I melt into the couch I'll destroy both of you."

Even to her own ears her words sounded weak but she couldn't bring herself to care. She just didn't want them to stop paying attention to her. That's why when she did she accidentally emitted the most pitiful sounding whine she had ever heard.

"Hush," George said as he swept her into his arms. "We're just going to put you on the bed and pay attention to you until you fall asleep."

"That's bullshit," Rose groaned as she leaned closer to George's chest.

"Oh, you don't want us to pay attention to you?" Fred asked as he pulled all of the blankets down and then climbed onto the right side of the bed.

"Pay attention to me!" Rose whined.

"Well, if you insist," George said with a laugh as he got her into the middle of the bed, laying on her stomach, before sitting on her left side.

Rose was practically purring as George started rubbing her left foot and Fred started massaging her shoulders. She felt as if she was melting into a puddle of happiness under the attention of her two boyfriends.


	15. Chapter 15

" _ **If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be!" -Maya Angelou**_

"And that's how you two got these beards…?" Rose asked with a small frown.

"Yes," the twins said with sharp nods.

"It was glorious to watch," Lee said, his eyes glittering. "They shot at least ten feet away, and then the beards just showed up!"

Rose shook her head and smiled, "When you fail you fail spectacularly, don't you?"

"We would've failed better if you'd been there," Fred grumbled.

"I'm sorry," Rose sighed and looked around the hospital wing with a small blush. She had been so scared that they would manage to succeed that she hadn't been able to go down to the Great Hall to watch them enter their names. In fact, she had just gone straight to the Great Hall, knowing that they would show up there if they failed. As soon as they arrived, with Lee howling with laughter trailing behind them, Madam Pomfrey had given off a great huff and started fixing them up.

"It's fine," George said, but Fred, playing his role well, frowned viciously.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say it is _fine_ but I'm also glad my girlfriend wasn't there to watch me get my arse handed to me by a bloody cup."

" _Language_ Mister Weasley!" Madam Pomfrey said with giant eyes.

"Which one would you prefer?" Fred asked back innocently.

Pomfrey growled and with a rather vicious jab of her wand in the twins' directions their beards retracted into their faces, "Out! All of you get out! This is a place of healing, not of mischief and – and – "

"Tomfoolery?" Rose offered helpfully.

" _Out!"_

The four laughed as they walked out of the hospital wing and the twins threw an arm each over Rose's shoulders.

"So, I know that you guys were getting at it in there," Lee said with a smirk as he walked backward in front of the Triad, "but I'd like to see what's inside that trunk of yours."

Rose frowned slightly and nibbled on her lower lip thoughtfully as the twins took chase after their laughing friend for his comment. Her eyes glittered with joy as the twins laughed along with Lee as they caught him and laughed openly when they pinned Lee to the ground.

"My Lady," Lee gasped for breath even as the twins' fingers attacked every ticklish spot on his body, "please, call off your dogs!"

"Dogs?!" the twins yelled. "We'll show you!"

"Boys," Rose snapped out, as serious as she could, "come here!"

"Yes ma'am!" the twins instantly replied, scuttling along the floor to sit at her feet and look up at her innocently.

Rose snorted and shook her head, before throwing her head back and laughing with Lee, "Dogs indeed!"

Fred and George huffed as Fred rubbed his face against Rose's thigh and George moved so he was kneeling and nuzzling her waist on the opposite side of Fred. Rose's face turned bright red and she squeaked, "Guys, we're in a hallway!"

"Oh no, don't stop at my expense," Lee said with a bit of a smirk as he leaned against a nearby wall. "I'm sure they could teach me all sorts of things."

Fred growled at Lee, and the vibration carried up to Rose's core making her squeak again.

"Lee, don't talk like that when they're like this!" Rose snapped as she clenched her fists slightly. Her glare made Lee close his mouth, as it was already open for a retort, and then she turned her attention to the twins, whose eyes were twinkling with mischief and possessiveness. "Guys, let's just go back to your dorm, and we can all explore my trunk together!"

The twins growled again, and Rose was quick to elaborate, "You know, my house! Or we can all go see the animals and creatures!"

The twins' eyes lit up and they jumped to their feet, "Well, let's go then!"

"Thanks for getting us permission, Lee!" George said with a jaunty wave at their startled friend.

"Yes, your assistance was very appreciated!" Fred said with a manic gleam in his eye.

"Oh Merlin," Rose said with a sigh as the twins started dragging her to the tower. "Come quickly Lee if you want to get inside the trunk!"

"Coming!" Lee called his expression awash with excitement as he rushed after the triad.

Rose bemoaned the fate of her poor, poor animals the whole way up to the boy's dorm and whined when they pushed her in front of her trunk with excitement shining on all of their faces.

"Listen, I'm leading the way. Don't you dare separate from me and if I find out that you did ANYTHING to my poor creatures I will have no hesitation in killing all three of you! Got it?" Rose growled.

"Yes Ma'am!" the three chorused, too excited to worry about her threats.

Rose sighed and frowned. She blocked their eyes as the opened it to her potions room, which was the closest to the animal room, and threw the lid of her trunk open before turning to look at the boys behind her, "Whoever is last needs to shut the lid behind them."

The boys nodded their agreement and Rose climbed down the ladder to the potions room. Inside the room were tables and cauldrons standing near their own ingredient cupboards. The walls were covered in shelves upon shelves that had little, or large, vials on them that glistened, glowed, or even sparkled different colors and sheens into the eyes of the person looking at them. She looked around the shelves, which were filled with medical potions for pretty much every need, and bit her lower lip. Even though she heard the others making their way downstairs she started grabbing potions and putting them into a bag that appeared on a nearby preparation table.

"What'cha doing, Rose?" Lee asked.

"Getting potions," Rose said. "I don't know which creature we'll find exactly, or which habitat we'll be spat into to start out in. Need to be prepared for anything."

"Best not to question it, mate," George said as he noticed Lee open his mouth to question Rose.

"Unless Rose wants to explain, that is," Fred said.

"Depends on where we end up. If it's the forest I may have to explain a bit. Actually…" Rose turned and stared at the three boys before glaring rather fiercely, "I need you all to swear that whatever happens in here - whatever creature you see, whatever injury you may obtain and whatever new uncommon information you may gain – that you don't tell anyone that doesn't know about it."

Fred and George had their wands out in a flash and intoned, "I swear on my magic that what happens in Rose's mystical creature room stays in Rose's mystical creature room unless I am given previous permission to share it, or I know that the other person already knows. So mote it be!"

They both slashed their wands through the air and sparks flew from them. Then they turned to look at Lee, who looked unsure of how to handle the situation. Seeing that the other three occupants of the room were staring at him he frowned and looked at Rose, "Well, I think a magical oath is a bit severe, don't you?"

Rose shrugged, "You have no idea what is in this trunk Lee."

As if to prove her point there was a roar from beyond the door that led to the animal room and the ground seemed to rattle a small bit. Lee looked at Rose with wide eyes, as did the twins. She bit her lower lip before deciding it best to continue, "I haven't _brought_ anyone else into the trunk, and the reason for that is very simple; some of my creatures are very protective, possessive even. I don't want you guys to get hurt because I can't trust you not to tell, and the animals noticing my unease."

Lee raised his wand and with no hint of amazement said, "I swear on my magic that what happens in Rose's mystical creature room stays in Rose's mystical creature room unless I am given permission first, or I know that it's already known by who I'm speaking too. So mote it be!" with a slash of his wand and a flash of sparks his oath to Rose was sealed.

"Thank you so much," Rose's eyes glittered slightly before she turned sharply and finished adding potions to her bag.

"So, where are we going to end up, Rose?" George asked eagerly.

"Quite honestly?" Rose asked thoughtfully. "Anywhere."

"That's not really confidence inducing," Lee noted, to the annoyance of the twins.

"Never said it would be. Don't worry, wherever we show up I can get us out," Rose turned around and smiled broadly at them all, throwing the bag over her shoulders and walking towards the door they had all heard the roar from, "Who wants to do the honors?"

The twins opened their mouths before Rose pulled Lee forward and smirked, "Thank you for volunteering, Lee! Just turn the handle and push."

Lee looked at Rose with giant eyes before he gathered his courage and he slowly opened the door to immediately be confronted by -

"Eek!" Lee screeched as he jumped back.

"Are you serious?" Rose sighed and leaned down to scoop up the Kneazle that had apparently terrified Lee tremendously if the quivering hand pressed against his chest was anything to go by. "It's just one of my patrol members. He's just doing his job, aren't you, Comic?"

The Kneazle chattered his teeth together, and to the twins and Lee's amazement Rose just nodded her head and frowned, "Yes, I thought so."

"Wait," George held his hands up, "did you say his name is _Comic?_ "

"Yes," Rose said with a nod. "It's all he responds to."

Comic, still held in Rose's arms, heaved a mighty sigh as if it shouldn't be questioned that his name was Comic. In all honesty, the silver tabby didn't seem to be all that funny to them, and after all, they should know all about what is funny and what isn't.

"Alright Comic, want to tell me what to expect today?" Rose said as she sat him on the ground.

Comic started meowing and purring and Rose tried not to laugh at the bulging eyes of the other human occupants. Rose nodded her head every so often, occasionally frowning or smiling, before Comic stopped with a chitter.

"Thank you, Comic. I'll make sure to check on Marsha."

Comic fluffed his tail out a bit before starting to walk away, and that's when everyone realized why he appreciated the name Comic so much. Instead of walking like most felines, he seemed to sway drunkenly, and occasionally he would stumble before catching himself and continuing on his merry way.

"And you said that he _patrols_?" Lee asked with wide eyes, having finally recovered from his 'shock.' "I thought you had more sense than that."

"I do. He's there for the smaller animals normally. Makes them feel better that not everything that's big is predatory."

"He's a Kneazle," Fred pointed out. "He _is_ predatory."

"Eddie Eddie! Makes me bite his nose he does!" a squeaky voice said from the bushes nearby.

"Close the door," Rose suddenly snapped at the twins who were closer to the door. "Now!"

George snapped the door shut, right before there was a thud as what looked to be an overgrown ferret slammed into the door.

"Dammit! Stupid human! Snap crack goes the bones!" the ferret squeaked.

"Marsh!" Rose snapped. "What bones?"

"Why can the ferret talk?" Lee asked with wide eyes.

"FERRET?!" Marsha squeak-yelled. "Ferret?! Worm head thinks I'm a ferret?! Eddie will handle this!"

"Marsha!" Rose yelled.

"She isn't a ferret?" Fred asked.

"Jarvey sneak and Jarvey snap, Marsha make you her snack!"

"Marsha!" Rose yelled making Marsha cower and slink into the bushes. "They are not snacks! They are people!"

"Already red with blood, they are. Worm head will be long enough!" the words slowly faded into the distance as Marsha slinked away.

"What just happened…?" Lee asked wide eyed.

"Nothing," Rose snapped before sighing and checking the twins over and then ruffling Lee's dreadlocks to make sure nothing was in them and sighing with relief. "That was Marsha the Jarvey. They are assholes, violent ones at that. They can talk, and they are vicious, especially with gnomes. They're rude to everyone."

"I think I've heard of a Jarvey," George noted. "I think mom wanted one for the gnomes before dad shut that idea down."

"Probably for the best, considering that you may have woken up in the middle of the night with a Jarvey trying to claw your neck open."

"Why do you have one if they're that vicious?" Fred asked.

"She keeps the gnome population down a bit."

The others looked at her wide eyed before George asked the question on everyone's mind, "What's an Eddie? Another Jarvey?"

Rose blushed, "Not exactly…"

A roar shook the ground they were standing on as Rose was about to further explain. The twins and Lee covered their ears and snapped their eyes closed as if it would make the sound any less earth shattering. They felt themselves being herded together by Rose and her arms wrapping around all of them before the roar ended and they could hear the rustle of leaves as there was a sound as if a giant cat were running towards them.

"What the-?!"

"Be quiet guys. Don't scream, either," Rose stepped away from them and ran towards the running noise. "Eddie! Eddie baby! Momma's right here!"

"Rose!" the twins yelled.

"Stop it!" Lee hissed at them and pulled them back to where they had been previously standing. "She told us to be quiet for a good reason! Do you know anything that can sound like that?"

"No," George whispered back as Fred kept struggling against them to get to Rose.

"Neither do I, but it was on par with a dragon that I heard on a reserve once."

"There's no way she has a dragon in here!" Fred snapped as he struggled harder to get to Rose.

Suddenly the smell of freshly baked bread ran over them and they all relaxed a bit, hearing Rose cooing nearby at something. A few moments later and Rose broke the tree lines, still cooing at something they couldn't see, but the smell was getting stronger.

"Oh Eddie-baby, Momma want's you to meet some of her friends! Uncle Cian said you need to meet people, you know!"

There was a chitter, much like Comic the Kneazle had made, "Mrowl?"

"That's it baby boy," Rose's eyes looked much like Mrs. Weasley's did every time she looked at one of her children. "Come on out, none of them are going to be upset. No, they're not!" with that, she shot a warning glance at Fred who immediately calmed himself down.

A giant paw slipped through the leaves before it flashed backward and another uncertain "Mrow?" rent the air.

"I know baby. You've never met anyone else before. But this is good for my growing boy, isn't it?"

Finally, after a tense moment, the creature left the treeline. The creature resembled a golden jaguar, but also had a spiky, seemingly inflatable throat that was darker than the rest of it. Its ears were flicking around as it stared at the now trembling trio uncertainly. The smell of freshly baked bread slowly morphed into the smell of chocolate chip cookies. Rose, for one, seemed to take this as a good thing.

"Rose is that a Nundu?!" Lee asked with giant eyes.

"Eddie?" Rose said with a gleam in her eyes as the cat, who was up to her shoulder in height licked her cheek uncertainly. "I believe you could say that, yes. Want to meet him? He's a very good boy."

"If he is a Nundu, shouldn't we all be dead by now?" Fred asked with wide eyes.

"No," Rose disagreed. "Nundu's only breath disease if they're uneasy emotionally. Since he takes his emotional cues from me he's not uneasy. I'd say he's rather happy at the moment, in fact."

George was the first one to recover, and start approaching the giant cat, "So, how tall is he?" he held his open palm towards Eddie.

"Oh, you know, somewhere around five foot. He'll get taller, but right now he's momma's little boy."

Eddie made an embarrassed chitter at his 'momma' and flopped onto the ground by her feet, staring up at her adoringly.

"Look at those feet!" Fred said in amazement as he approached Eddie, dragging Lee with him. "They're bigger than my head!"

"As they should be," Rose noted. "He's just a toddler right now, you know."

"A toddler?" Lee asked faintly.

The great rumbling purr that came from Eddie confirmed it for everyone, and Rose looked down at him proudly.

"Think he'd let me use him as a pillow?" Fred asked excitedly as he rubbed Eddie's side.

"I don't really control him, but I don't see why not," Rose noted as she made eye contact with Eddie.

Eddie sighed greatly before moving his legs to give access to his stomach to the three boys.

"I think-"

"Lee, just pet him. There's no reason to be so uneasy, he's never hunted a day in his life. Have you baby?" Rose cooed.

"Murrr," Eddie agreed.

"That's a good boy Eddie," Rose said with a smile. As the twins laid their heads on Eddie's stomach and remarked about how comfortable it was and how soft he was Rose gently grabbed Lee's hand and held it out to Eddie. Eddie sniffed twice before purring, making Fred and George exclaim about how awesome this was, and laying his head back down.

"See? He's fine with you," Rose smiled at Lee and placed his hand on Eddie's cheek. "Just relax. Close your eyes. Feel how soft he is? See how well he's responding to your touch?" She kept guiding Lee's hand, his eyes closed firmly and she brushed his hand over Eddie's neck, before reaching Eddie's shoulder and pressing his hand down more firmly. "He's purring. I wonder why? Perhaps it's because he enjoys your attention."

The twins were watching Rose guide Lee through his fear with half-lidded eyes and they looked at each other, sharing the same thought. If they could ever get her to have their children, she'd be a great mother. In fact, in many ways, she was already a great mother.

Eddies louder than normal purr as they thought that made them wonder if he could read minds.

 **Delco's house, earlier that morning.**

"So, what'd you come here for?" Delco asked as he sat down a goblet of a thick, red, substance in front of his guest.

"Simply put, I want answers," the woman said. "and Cian is not likely to give them to me."

"Mmm," Delco sat opposite of the woman and tilted his head to the side, letting her bitter cold smell waft over him. He recognized the scent from smelling it on Cian, but he wasn't quite sure who the woman was. "Well, what makes you think that I'll be any more likely to tell you than he would be?"

"Because I've watched you for a long time, Mister Paternus."

"Then you'd know I don't like that name," Delco pointed out.

"Of course, which just so happens to be the reason I used it."

Delco was silent for a moment before taking a drink of the burning liquid in his own goblet, "Well, drink up lady. It'll be daylight soon, so you'll be stuck here for a while. And regardless, you look like you could use it."

"My name," the woman noted sharply, "is Cordelia. I'll trust you to use it."

"My name," Delco said with a lazy smirk, "is Delco. Call me anything else in lieu of that and I'll have to kick you out in the sunlight."

Cordelia glared her mismatched eyes at the wolf in front of her and finally took a small sip of her 'drink' before setting it back down, "I want answers. I want to know about this human child Cian is so enamored with, I want to know why he gives her _gifts_ , and why she out of every other living being in the world is allowed to tote around a vial of his blood, his precious life essence as if it has no importance!"

Delco glared lightly at the woman, mostly in warning, before leaning back in his chair, "Is that a bit of jealousy I sense?"

"That's not an answer wo – Delco."

He leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other with an air of confidence enfolding him, "Good girl. Now," Delco leaned forward slightly with fire blazing in his eyes, why are you asking questions about my sister?"

"Because she makes no sense. Every creature of note flocks to her, she subdues the greatest of beasts with a single smile, she coos to the creatures that would happily end her existence, and yet she still stands. He gave her a Nundu, Delco, and she still stands."

"Oh, Eddie? He's a good cat, I think. Never had the joy of meeting him, but he's never killed anyone so that's a good thing. You have no idea how much paperwork Cian had to push through for that," Delco noted Cordelia's sour expression, and he back peddled slightly. "Or perhaps you do."

"Is she even aware of how many certificates she has? Does she even have any of them?"

"Of course," Delco nodded. "No one else is aware, though. We pushed them through rather silently."

"It's a Nundu. A giant, disease breathing, vicious creature. Full grown a hundred men struggle to take it down. How is it that a single, rather small girl, can control it?"

"She's never angry or greedy around it. Nundu's are rather fickle beings, and they only kill with their diseased breath if they feel threatened or there is negative emotion surrounding them. In this way, you would make a terrible Nundu mother."

"Delco!" Cordelia snapped.

"I'm not apologizing for the truth."

There was a moment of silence before Cordelia leaned backward tiredly in her chair, "I don't know how she managed to get this power…"

"She didn't 'manage' to get this. She doesn't think she's special. She just does what feels right to her. I remember once she told me she thinks of what her godfather would do, and then she does the opposite. She's always polite until given a reason not to be, she's gentle but she's made of steel. It's amazing to watch her, to be honest. Maybe you should give it a try."

"I refuse to watch after a human child."

"I wonder if that's why you don't know the basics of Rose's existence."

 **Great Hall of Hogwarts, Dinner time.**

"And why are you covered in cat hair?" Ron asked Fred and George.

"Why aren't you?" Lee asked, which his arm firmly over Rose.

"It's normal for Rose to be covered, but you three?" Harry asked.

"Okay, so Maple is shedding," Rose noted. "It doesn't mean you need to bring attention to it!"

Harry and Ron held up their hands, knowing better than to irritate Rose when it came to her animals.

"How has your Halloween gone, Rose?" Hermione asked kindly.

"Well. Very well. I'm happy with it at the very least," Rose looked down shyly. "I just hope nothing goes wrong. No trolls in the dungeons, right?"

The golden trio and Rose all laughed, but the twins and Lee didn't. They still remembered the terror they had felt when Ron, Hermione, and Harry had shown up without Rose in tow, and how long it had taken before Rose showed up again.

They all happily ate, sharing jokes and betting on who would get the honor of being the champion of Hogwarts. Rose was just happy that it couldn't be Harry or her twins. She did, however, think it would be amazing if Angelina could be the champion. There was a lot of craning necks and impatient expressions. The fidgeting and constant movement let everyone know that the feast wasn't as important as the choosing of the champions.

At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them to please come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" – he indicated the door behind the staff table – "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semi-darkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful to the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting… a few people kept checking their watches…

"Any second," Lee whispered, his arm around Rose's shoulders tightening slightly as the twins grabbed her hands from across the table.

The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it – the whole room gasped.

Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."

"No surprise there!" yelled Ron as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Rose watched Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table and slouch up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.

"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all of the applause. "Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which seconds later, turned red once more. The second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

"It's her, Ron!" Harry shouted as the girl who so resembled a veela got gracefully to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery blonde hair, and swept up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.

"Oh look, they're all disappointed," Hermione said over the noise, nodding toward the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. "Disappointed" was a bit of an understatement, Rose thought. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms.

" _I'm so glad you're not like that,"_ Fred and George's voice whispered into her head, causing her to laugh as Fleur Delacour had vanished into the side chamber, and silence fell again. This time the silence was so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion was next.

And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip, Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"

The uproar from the next table was too great to hear anything else. Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have out three champions, I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champion every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real –"

But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him.

The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.

Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out –

" _Harry Potter."_


	16. Chapter 16

Rose felt the blood drain from her face as every head in the Great Hall turned to look at Harry. She felt tears prickle her eyes as she watched the stunned expression on Harry's face. She had to be dreaming. This was all an elaborate prank.

There was no applause. A buzzing, as though of angry bees, was starting to fill the Hall; some students were standing up to get a better look at Harry as he sat, frozen in his seat.

Up at the top table, Professor McGonagall had got to her feet and swept past Ludo Bagman and Professor Karkaroff to whisper urgently to Professor Dumbledore, who bent his ear toward her, frowning slightly.

Harry looked down the Gryffindor table, "I didn't put my name in," he said blankly. "You know I didn't."

That broke the dam Rose's eyes had given her and tears rushed down her cheeks, "I know Harry, I know…"

Her clammy hands grabbed onto Harry's as Professor Dumbledore straightened up, nodding to Professor McGonagall.

"Harry Potter!" he called again. "Harry! Up here if you please!"

"Go on," Hermione whispered, giving Harry a slight push. Rose cried harder and tried to keep a grip on his hands.

Harry squeezed her hands before he got to his feet, trod on the hem of his robes, and stumbled slightly. He set off up the gap between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. Soon enough, too soon, he was in front of Dumbledore.

Dumbledore said something, unsmiling, and Rose cried harder.

Harry moved off along the teachers' table. Harry went through the door out of the Great Hall and was out of Rose's sight.

"NO!" Rose finally screamed as she stood up and tried to rush towards where Harry was. "No! Not Harry! Anyone but Harry!"

Fred and George had launched themselves over the table and pinned Rose between them as she screamed for her twin.

"Miss Potter!" McGonagall yelled, "contain yourself!"

"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please – I'll do anything –"

"Be quiet, you foolish girl!" Karkaroff yelled.

" _Not my babies! Not them! Please - I'll do anything -"_

" _Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"_

Rose's body went limp as the rest of the Great Hall joined in her call for justice, for correction.

* * *

"This is insane!" a voice snapped. "I can't believe you'd put him in this type of danger, you've caused this!"

"Calm yourself," another voice said. "I do not know how this came to happen."

"Both of you be quiet," another voice said, "she's waking up." Rose felt a hand grab hers. "Rose, Rose, can you hear me?"

 _Remus_ , her mind helpfully supplied.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you," Rose groaned as her sandpaper throat constricted and stretched with her words. Her eyes slid open slowly and she was greeted by the worried faces of Sirius and Remus, with Dumbledore standing in the background. Then everything hit her again in a flash and she shot up out of bed, her eyes burning with rage.

" _You!"_ she shrieked as she tried to get to Dumbledore before Remus held her. "How dare you?! He's a kid! He's the same age as me! How dare he be in this Merlin-forsaken tournament!"

"Rose!" Remus snapped at her, but her body didn't react to him, in fact, a voice in the back of her head snarled at him for daring to challenge his superior.

"I'll make you pay! As the Lady of House Potter, I swear once I find out who caused this I will destroy them!"

There was a flash of golden light and Rose collapsed into Remus's arms.

"Did… Did she just invoke House Potter's power…?" Sirius asked with wide eyes.

"It would appear she did," Dumbledore said, his eyes sad. "Perhaps, Sirius, it would be best she no longer stayed with you. She might be –"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Remus growled at Dumbledore after he tucked in Rose. "Don't you dare threaten to take her. Don't you dare say she's turning dark. She's a child, and she wasn't trained at _your_ request. Get out, Dumbledore. Get out!"

"Remus!" Madam Pomfrey yelled, her hand pressing against her breasts as if to calm her beating heart.

"No, it's quite alright, Poppy," Dumbledore turned his sad eyes onto Remus. "I'm sorry m'boy, but think about what I've said."

"I'll think of it as lies and cowardice!" snarled Remus.

Dumbledore didn't respond as he left the room.

"What's been happening with her, Remus?" Sirius asked with sad eyes as he collapsed into a chair next to Rose's bed. "She used to be so open… she would tell us everything…"

"If it won't cause you to snap," Madam Pomfrey said while she swept her wand over Rose. "I believe there's a lot about this young lady that has changed. The pure number of bonds, both evoked and not, that I can read on her is unprecedented. Not to mention the amount of raw, uncontrolled power she has."

"Bonds?" Sirius and Remus asked.

"Yes, Bonds. One of them is even bordering on a bind, which could explain her level of power."

"Is she the focus of them all?" Remus asked as he sat.

"It would appear so."

"What's going on here, Moony?" Sirius asked with nervous twitches of his hands.

"She keeps making too many friends, and it seems none of them want to leave her."

The doors slammed open and Harry, Fred, and George came bolting into the room, "Is she okay?!" all three asked.

"It would appear those three have bonds with her," Madam Pomfrey noted.

"Why do you say that?" Sirius asked as Remus tried to calm the worried boys down.

"They all reacted to her intense emotional change."

Sirius saw red for a moment before the anger just left him and he sighed, "I'm not surprised. Keep this on the down-low?"

"I'm a medical professional!" Pomfrey said with an 'insulted' glare at Sirius before her voice softened, "it would be remiss of me to tell anyone about this."

Madam Pomfrey walked off as Harry, Fred, and George placed themselves around Rose with Sirius and Remus.

"She's okay?" Harry asked nervously. "You promise?"

"Of course," Remus nodded. "It would seem that something triggered a mental break and she is trying to work through what all happened last night."

"This is my fault," Harry said woefully. "If my name hadn't-"

"This isn't your fault," Sirius said firmly. "This is the fault of whoever put your name in the Goblet."

"Yeah, Mate," George said as Fred laid his head on one of Rose's hands. "the Goblet would have to be barmy to not choose you if your name was in it."

"Ron thinks I put my name in…" Harry muttered.

"And Ron's a prat," Fred noted, his comment muffled by Rose's hand.

"Yeah, don't listen to that idiot. Everyone here knows you didn't," George said.

Sirius spoke up again, "Does she have any creatures that will fix this whole thing?"

"Doubtful," Remus said. "Short of a Phoenix nothing will fix this. And we don't know that one's name."

"Wait, she has creatures?" Harry asked.

Fred and George shared a significant look, at least to those in the know, and shook their heads, "She makes friends with all sorts of creatures, doesn't she? That's what you two mean, right?"

Remus and Sirius shared a look before Remus nodded, "Of course. What else could we mean?"

Harry shook his head, "Fawkes likes Rose."

"Fawkes isn't an option," Sirius and Remus chorused instantly.

"What? Why not?" Harry asked with wide eyes.

"Dumbledore," Sirius growled.

"Is that why she got so angry?" George asked as Fred grabbed onto Rose's hand tighter.

"Yes. He was there when she woke up and she lost it. Then after she passed out again," Sirius and Remus shared a look again, "he said it might be best to take her away from Sirius."

"What?!" Fred, George, and Harry chorused.

"He won't be able to," Sirius said quietly. "He has no reason to take her, and the court wouldn't go with him even if he did."

"So, she's woken up?" Fred said after a moment of silence.

"Yes. Why?" Sirius asked.

Fred ignored Sirius and called out quietly, "Zolsy…?"

Sirius and Remus tensed up as Zolsy appeared with a quiet pop, "Yes Misser Fred Wheezy?"

"What do you like to give Rose for breakfast?" George asked, taking over for his twin who was no longer focused on the elf.

"Well," Zolsy said slowly. "I like to give her eggies, bacon, toast, and special elf-tea. Makes her wake right up it does!"

"Get that for her please, Zolsy," Sirius said as he caught on.

Zolsy gave Sirius a bitter look, "Of course Mister Pads." With another pop, Zolsy was gone.

"How does she have access to Zolsy?" Remus asked with wide eyes.

Fred frowned and waved his wand around a bit, muttering under his breath before stopping as a bubble type thing appeared around them. Fred and Sirius stared at the bubble and then at Fred before George explained, "She doesn't want anyone to know, and the walls have ears."

Harry spoke up, "So about this Zolsy thing…"

"Zolsy is a Potter house elf," Remus said. "Sirius took Rose out of her arms when he took you two from Godric's Hollow. Zolsy likely hasn't forgiven Sirius for that."

"She hasn't," Harry said. "When I first met her she called him 'mean Mister Pads.'"

"You've met her before?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah, Rose summoned her so she could talk to Hermione. I just didn't really think about it that much, honestly."

"Eventually," Fred said, either not caring or not noticing that Sirius was about to speak up again, "Zolsy will technically belong to Harry. But at the current time, Rose it the one who controls them. She, as the Lady of House Potter, keeps track of the houselves, gives money to any charities or organizations she wants to, and keeps track of all Potter properties and assets."

George nodded and continued for Fred, "And, since Harry isn't legally of age yet, she has more jobs. Such as keeping track of gold amounts, dueling anyone who challenges house Potter, providing for the member of House Potter, and contacting alliance members to make sure the alliances are still in place. She hasn't even started contacting anyone because as far as everyone is concerned, Harry and she are still under age."

"Then why does she have all of these responsibilities? How did she get to be Lady Potter?" Remus asked.

"Her bond to us," Fred said with a sigh as he sat up.

"And what bond is that?" Sirius growled.

"Well, for a start," George said. "It's a triadic bond."

"Which is the very reason no one knows," Fred noted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked. "Everyone knows your dating anyways."

"Yes, but no one knows they're an actual triad," Remus noted. "They'd assume they're a trio, or a triadic relationship, not that they were a true triad."

"What's the difference?" Harry asked.

"A triad is a complete bond between three people, think of it as a soul bond, but it goes three ways. Ours is sort of like that, but it is different. Fred and I have no urge to be together, but we both would do anything for Rose."

"That being said, I would still do anything for George, but if it were a choice between him and Rose I'd choose Rose in a heartbeat. She's what's called our focus. She is what our bonds are clicked on to, and the only bond George and I have is our twin bond, which isn't nearly strong as our triadic bond to Rose."

"But a three-way relationship, or trio, is just a relationship that three people are having together. There's no bond, there's no magical connection. It's just like regular dating."

"That's… That's insane!"

"Never said it wasn't," the twins chorused grimly.

Zolsy popped in at that moment and looked at the bubble for a split second before sighing and sitting Rose up slightly and shoving the tray of food into Sirius's hands. She took the mug of tea off the tray and climbed onto the bed until she was kneeling next to Rose.

"Mistress, drink your drink," Zolsy said quietly as Rose's nose twitched slightly.

Rose groaned lightly, but her mouth opened slightly, prompting Zolsy to tip some of the tea into Rose's mouth. Rose closed her mouth and swallowed, her eyelashes fluttering slightly. Everyone watched in awe as Zolsy kept giving Rose the tea before Rose finally opened her eyes and took the mug from the elf.

"Thank you, Zolsy, you're the best," Rose muttered.

"Zolsy has given foods for you to Mister Pads. No rushing Mistress," Zolsy said sternly.

"Of course not, Zolsy. Your help is greatly appreciated."

Zolsy bowed her head slightly before disappearing.

Rose looked around at the people gathered around her bed and the bubble before turning to the twins, "So, the spell works?"

"Of course," Fred said with a small smile, "you invented it after all."

"I do like it," Rose noted.

"Do you remember what happened, Rose?" Sirius asked.

"I remember," Rose's eyes shot to Harry. "Have they given you your contract?"

"No," Harry said with wide eyes.

Rose turned to Sirius, "Get the contract from them."

"I will," Sirius said with a nod.

Rose turned to Remus, "You need to find the loopholes. There has to be one somewhere. We can't let Harry compete."

"Of course," Remus said.

"You need to eat, Rose," George said.

"I'll feed you!" Sirius said as he moved his chair closer to Rose.

"I'm not an invalid, I can feed myself."

"But Zolsy fed you tea…"

Rose sighed, "Are you really going to complain about my head house elf?"

"Of course not!" Sirius said, affronted.

"Good. Now give me my food."

Sirius sighed and placed the tray on Rose's lap.

* * *

The backlash of 'The Goblet Incident' as Rose called it, was evident immediately. Hufflepuffs stopped talking to Gryffindors, Slytherins taunted Harry more frequently, and the Ravenclaws came to the conclusion that Harry wanted some more fame by entering his name in the Goblet.

Every time that one of these incidents would happen in front of Rose, if from a pureblooded family, Rose would give them a single warning: Treat Harry wrong about the Goblet again and House Potter would be forced to take action. Many letters were flying through the air to other Purebloods, and all of them wrote letters home, even as Rose spent all of her spare time writing letters to the houses of the Alliance of Potter. Sirius and Remus gave her hints on how to handle everyone, what type of letters and warnings she was to issue, and then they told her all of it would be figured out.

She had sent and received numerous letters from the Potter Alliance, and she was quick to either dismiss their fears or tell them they were on thin ice. Many of the other houses promised to talk to their children, to make them see reason, and Rose couldn't help but smirk at all of it. It was amazing how being a Lady or Lord of a house would change how people looked at you. In fact, she had even sent out missives to all companies that the Potter House had the majority in, and told them that if they kept discriminating against those who were infected with lycanthropy she would pull out her shares and watch them crumble.

Because of all of this, Rose didn't see a single pureblood wearing the 'support Cedric Diggory' buttons, and if they did that was all it said, it never changed to the 'Potter stinks' logo. Rose assumed that that was why she got called up to Dumbledore's office on this day.

"Miss Potter," Dumbledore said, and Rose noted Charlie Weasley standing behind him, his large arms crossed in front of his chest, and a serious expression on his face.

"Yes, sir?" Rose asked calmly, even though emotions rolled through her like a hurricane.

"We have a proposition for you," Dumbledore said as he steepled his fingers in front of his face. "In order to hear it, though, you have to vow not to tell any one of the happenings of this conversation."

Rose frowned and tilted her head, "I, Rose Potter, vow to not tell anyone of this conversation until it's no longer relevant. So mote it be."

Dumbledore looked at Rose sharply for a moment, but continued talking nonetheless, "You've been offered a position, along with a future job possibility if all goes well."

"At the very least you'll have a recommendation," Charlie piped up.

"Yes," Dumbledore shot Charlie his version of a disgruntled glance. "You see, Miss Potter, there has been an interesting occurrence as of late, with the entrance of Harry Potter into the Triwizard tournament, our first task has had to be altered slightly."

"Dragons," Rose said with a glance at Charlie. "Which would explain Charlie's presence."

"Well, yes. We originally only had three dragons, but we had to get a fourth for Harry."

"And this involves me…?"

"You were recommended," Charlie said with a smirk. "Hagrid said you were the best of the best, none of his other students were nearly as great as you. Not to mention you have a lot of paperwork on file in regards to a lot of animals."

"I was recommended for what?"

"Helping to look after the dragons, of course!" Charlie said with a broad grin. "It's like a regular job."

"But I have classes?"

"We've gotten permission for you to use a time turner to be able to get to classes," Dumbledore said.

"But I'll need double the sleep, and I only have one bed."

"That is a conundrum," Dumbledore said, his eyes gleaming.

"If I may, sir," Charlie butted in, "Rose has been with my twin brothers for awhile now, as long as they don't get up to any ah… extracurricular activities… I think she could probably sleep in their room too."

"We'd have to ask Mister Jordan if that was okay with him. Let me go tell Minerva to ask them," he walked over to the floo and Rose quickly opened her mind link to the twins.

" _Hide my trunk! McGonagall's going to come into the room to ask Lee if he would mind if I slept in there! Make sure he knows that I've never slept in there before!"_

" _Aye aye, captain!"_

Dumbledore stood up again and smiled sagely at Rose, "We'll just have to wait for her to contact us back. But, that aside, would you agree to this arrangement?"

"Of course, sir! It's a great opportunity! I just have one question, and if it's answered either way it will still be a yes."

"What's your question?" Dumbledore asked.

"Do I get paid for this?"

"Most definitely," Charlie said with a nod. "This _is_ life-threatening work, we'd be remiss if we didn't give you some form of compensation."

"Alright," Rose said with a broad grin. "I can't wait to get started! When do I start?"

"Tomorrow," Charlie said with a grin. "7 am until 8 pm. Think you can handle it, kid?"

"Watch me."

McGonagall's head appeared in the fireplace, "Mister Jordan says that he'd be fine with it. The Weasley Twins seemed particularly eager, but I told them no improper things would happen in that room."

"Thank you, Minerva," the light in Dumbledore's eyes seemed to dim ever so slightly. "That will be all."

McGonagall nodded and her head disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"Well, that's all of the problems tied up in a nice little bow!" Charlie said before clapping his hands together and grinning. "I'll see you tomorrow, Rose!"

"You bet you will!" Rose said with a laugh as she nodded to the Headmaster, petted the head of Fawkes, and left the room.

"You think she's ready for this, Mister Weasley?" Dumbledore asked sharply, causing Charlie to tense.

"With all due respect, Sir, I've learned that Rose knows her limits better than anyone else ever could, I think this would be included in that."

Dumbledore sighed and nodded slightly, "Yes, I would suppose that is true…"

* * *

 _Lord Black,_

 _It has come to our attention that one of your dependents had an unauthorized interview with one of the Daily Prophet's reporters, Miss Rita Skeeter. We have included a copy of the piece she wanted to put in the Daily Prophet and want you to review it and say whether or not we are allowed to share it._

 _We apologize for her actions, and we assume that she didn't know what she was doing when she interviewed him. Although she assures us he was more than happy to comply, we still require your assent before publishing it._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Otto Xunitor_

 _Head Editor of the Daily Prophet_

* * *

 _Mister Xunitor,_

 _No._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Lord Sirius Black_

* * *

"Woah there, Rose!" a rough voice yelled. "That ain't safe!"

"None of this ever is!" Rose called back as she stood in front of the cage that held the Dragon Tamer's most dangerous dragon.

The words Hungarian Horntail were proudly emblazoned on some sort of fireproof metal on the cage, and Rose smiled slightly as she stood in front of the cage, ignoring the smoke billowing from the Horntail's nostrils.

"You're small," the dragon said to Rose.

"You're big," Rose said back, a proud smirk on her lips.

"You're a child! Hardly any older than a hatchling!" the Horntail slammed her tail into the ground in agitation.

Rose blushes slightly and waved away Raymond, another dragon handler, "Well, I am still a child, but I'm older than a hatchling!"

The Horntail stared at Rose for a moment before heaving a sigh and nodding her head toward the giant hunk of meat Rose had behind her, "I need that."

Rose dragged it up to her and shoved it into the cage, "What's your name?"

"My name? Firefly. And you, hatchling?"

"Rose."

"Delicate in size and name," Firefly noted before tearing into the meat Rose had given her.

"I'm hardly delicate!" Rose said with a glare.

The plume of smoke that shot at Rose was supposed to be Firefly's argument that she was delicate.

"Rose!" Charlie called as he galloped up to her even as she was coughing the smoke out of her lungs. "How'd you do that?"

"How'd I do what?"

"Get her to take her food without a stunner?"

"I talked to her before giving it to her?"

"She didn't attack Rose at all!" Raymond said as he eagerly trotted towards them. "It was amazing!"

Raymond was the senior most Dragon Tamer on hand, although he didn't look like it. He had arms as thick as tree branches, and a chest like a tree trunk to boot. His brown hair was cut close to his head, and he typically worked shirtless, although Rose was sure that was just to embarrass her.

"She didn't?" Charlie asked as he scratched a recently acquired scar. "Impressive, Rose. Maybe you'll make it through this without a scar!"

"Of course I will," Rose said with a smirk. "I'm cuter than you burly guys."

"And easier to eat," Charlie said as he wrapped an arm around Rose.

"I like to think I'm too sweet for them."

"None of us would attack a hatchling," Firefly noted, and though Rose could tell Charlie and Raymond didn't understand, but she still nodded at Firefly.

"You don't know the meaning of sweet," Raymond said, one of his gargantuan hands reaching forward and pulling Rose into a brief hug. "Now, It's almost time for dinner. You gonna eat with us again?"

Rose shrugged her shoulders, "What do I get if I do?"

Raymond and Charlie snorted, "Spoiled chit," Raymond noted. "I suppose I can give you first choice. That's the most you get."

"Then of course!" Rose grinned broadly and skipped over towards the dining area, with Raymond and Charlie hanging behind.

"How does she do that?" Raymond whispered to Charlie. "There's no way that she just _talks_ to the Dragons and calms them down. I've watched the others, and none of them look at her like she's food. None of them. They all look at her like she's a hatchling!"

"Maybe that's how she does it. Maybe she's just so damn small that they want to protect her?" Charlie heard a loud, collective groan ring out from the dining area and started walking that way with Raymond. "But how do we test that?"

"The only way is to put her in the cage, but I don't feel comfortable doing that."

"We'll figure something out," Charlie said with a sigh, unaware that someone else had heard the whole conversation.

That night, if it weren't for the wards they had put up, the forest would have been set ablaze and the school would have shaken with the sound of a ferocious roar. One sentiment was shared throughout the whole dragon tamer camp, though; they needed to find Rose.

That was how Rose found herself, and the twins, being shaken awake by a thoroughly disheveled McGonagall.

"Professor?" Rose asked tiredly as she stretched and checked the time. She still had hours before any classes or having to go to work. "What is it?"

"Your comrades need you," McGonagall said cryptically, but based off of her expression Rose knew it was dire.

"Of course, right away," Rose stood up, ignoring the twins groans and whines about the cruelty of the world, and slipped on her shoes and socks, not caring that she was wearing one of Charlies old shirts and a pair of Harry's sweat pants. She raced out of the room with McGonagall hot on her heels.

"What's the situation?" Rose asked, hardly awake.

"They didn't explain. They only said one of them is going ballistic."

"Shit," Rose muttered. "Coffee!"

A small thoroughly brown and caffeinated elf appeared next to Rose before sprinting along next to her easily. "Yes, Mistress Potter?"

"I need caffeine."

"Right away."

The elf disappeared before showing up again and handing Rose a thermos, "Hot Chocolate, two expresso! And whipped cream."

"You're the best, Coffee. Dismissed."

The elf popped away again and Rose quickly drank some of the drink down before turning to look at McGonagall, who was lagging behind, "Don't worry about me! Go to sleep, I'll be in your class tomorrow, you know!"

Rose didn't wait for her reply as she charged out of the front doors and down towards the forest where the Dragons were. The closer she got the more she worried, as she could feel the heat and the roar she heard could only have come from one dragon.

"Firefly!" she called out as she charged in to see the Dragon tamers struggling to just control the flames, let alone the dragon herself.

"Rose!" Jane, a burly dragon feeder called. "We don't know what's wrong with her!"

"Stay back!" Raymond called.

Rose ignored them all and went right into the cage despite their yells.

"Firefly! Firefly listen to me!" she called as she easily dodged the agitated dragon's tail. "Please, tell me what's wrong!"

"MY FOOT!" firefly screamed, and Rose could tell the others just heard a roar.

"Which one? What happened? Let me help! You could hurt the eggs if you carry on this way!"

Firefly immediately calmed down and settled a bit, although she was whimpering. She pushed her foot towards Rose, begging for help.

"Merlin..." Rose said as she looked at the 'thorn' that was stuck in the dragon's foot. The worst part about it, that Rose could see, was the pure size. With Firefly no longer breathing fire, all of the Dragon Tamers also took note of Rose. She heard their gasps and shouts but ignored them. "It'll hurt when I pull it out."

"Do it," Firefly groaned.

Rose pointed her wand at the piece of wood and bit her lower lip, _"Dolor repitit! Vulnus accepit!"_

The wood flew from Firefly's foot and she roared in pain. Rose suddenly felt very warm, and she heard screams but that's all she was aware of before Firefly curled around her.

"Get off, get off!" Rose called in annoyance.

"You helped me," Firefly purred and all of the Dragon Tamers looked on in awe.

"Let go!"

"So small. So kind," Firefly nuzzled Rose's hair and huffed into it making Rose cough. "I want you to be one of my little nestlings."

Rose's heart froze for a moment before she felt tears enter her eyes, "I'll be staying here tonight, everyone! Go back to sleep!" Rose ignored the groans and the angry calls about how it was bullshit Rose got to do all of the fun stuff before she laid her head against Firefly. "I don't have a nest mother… She died saving me and my brother…"

Firefly made a sad rumbling noise, much like a purr, before pulling one of her wings over them, "You have no nest?"

"My brother and I… Our nest was destroyed. We were raised by… Nest friends."

Firefly whined slightly before shuffling Rose around a bit, "I'll make sure your nest is never lonely, little Rose."

Rose yawned tiredly, the thermos rolling out of the cage slowly, "I've never been lonely before. I have my nest mate, and I have two real mates."

"Impressive for a nestling."

"I suppose it is," Rose tiredly agreed before she slowly fell into sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

"It's Dragons," Harry said to her in a whisper as he looked around the common room. "I've told Cedric, Fleur and Krum already knew."

"Dragons!" Rose said, clapping her hands in a sarcastic joyous manner as her eyes twinkled, letting her twin know she already knew. "Can you imagine? I wonder what types they're going to have? A French Redhorn? A Norwegian Ridgeback? Oh, the options are endless!"

"You're mad," Harry said with wide eyes. "Absolutely bonkers!"

"Quite right," Rose said with a nod before leaning forward slightly and smirking at her brother, "now, why did you come to tell me this?"

"I need help," Harry said desperately. "You're the only person besides Hagrid I know who knows anything about Dragons! And he's a professor so he's not allowed to help."

Rose hummed thoughtfully and sighed quietly, "What are the rules?"

"We have to get passed them or something like that."

"And have you done _any_ preparation?"

"I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

Rose groaned and leaned back in her chair, "Oh, _Harry._ "

"Listen, it's not _my_ fault!" Harry growled. "I only just found out!"

Rose shook her head, holding in her rebuke for another time, "Fine. But what do you expect me to do?"

"Tell me what to do."

"Tell me what types of dragons there are."

Harry gave Rose a look, knowing she already knew, but told her anyways, "A Hungarian Horntail, Swedish Short-Snout, a Common Welsh Green, and a Chinese Fireball."

Rose nodded her head, "You want the Welsh Green if you can help it. They're docile, all things considered. Next choice would be the Swedish Short-Snout because even though their flames are _really_ hot, they aren't really the most aggressive, and their flames are short range. Then you could probably handle a Chinese Fireball if you can figure out how to transfigure something into pigs, which is doubtful that being said, you could also just let it come to you and dash around it. It's slow. The absolute _last_ dragon you want is the Hungarian Horntail. They're aggressive, they have long range flames, and their tail is just as dangerous as their front. The only thing you have going for you, honestly, is that you're so small. Makes you a harder target, and much less enticing. Oh! They're also reptiles, so you can probably understand them talking to an extent, like snakes."

"I'm going to die," Harry said with his head in his hands.

"No, you won't," Rose said calmly. "Here, I'll give you some advice… Since you have the worst luck in the world, first learn how to summon your broom. The intent is everything. Next, when you walk in there I want you to look terrified. You will be terrified so it won't be hard. Call out to the dragon, in parseltongue, ask for help. That should work. Just remember, they're resistant to spells too."

"You're crazy," Harry accused.

"It's your best shot, Harry. You're young, the Dragon will sense that."

* * *

"Hello. May I sit herrre?" a baritone voice said to her with a noticeable accent.

Rose looked up at him, and without thinking used the magic in her earrings to speak to the rather wimpy (in comparison) Durmstrang boy who stood in front of her table in the library, "Of course you may. Sit."

He looked shocked for a moment before he sat down and looked at her uneasily, "You speak Bulgarian?"

Rose tapped her ear and smiled kindly at him, "Magic."

"Ahh," he looked down for a moment before looking at her again. "I am Fukin Tikhonovich, but you may call me Roma."

Rose smiled, "I'm Rose Potter, you can call me Rose."

"I thought you were her," he said with a nod before looking down at the table. "This place, Hogwarts, it is very magical, is it not?"

"It is," Rose agreed as she went back to working on her astronomy work absentmindedly. "It's rather old, too."

"Durmstrang is not as old."

"No, I'd imagine it wouldn't be. Wasn't Bulgaria one of the last countries to decide to standardize its teachings?"

"Yes," Roma seemed impressed that she knew that. "England was one of the first."

"It was. It all started here," Rose waved her hand around absent-mindedly before looking at the blond haired boy more closely, "what is it, exactly, that you wanted?"

"Need to do work," he said with a sigh. "But girls keep coming up and blathering on about Viktor. I do not understand, Viktor is not all that. He is just annoying like everyone else."

Rose laughed, "Then I'm not sure this is the place you want to be. I have girls come up and blather on to me about my twin Harry, all the time."

"Yes," he acknowledged. "But perhaps us together will be too scary?"

Rose rolled her eyes, "You obviously don't understand the tenacity of females who think boys are cute."

"I should hope I do!" Roma said, affronted, before he withered. "But I do not. It is sad but true."

There was a moment of silence, and Rose supposed that it should have made her nervous of uncomfortable, but she felt very calm. Perhaps it was because of where she was; the library was kept unnaturally quiet, and - until you were used to it - it filled even the bravest souls with trepidation.

"What did you say your given name was, again?" Rose asked quietly.

"Fukin. Why?"

Rose stifled a laugh and smiled kindly at him, "Well, you see, there's a swear word that sounds very close to your name. It's 'fucking,' and even though your name is more like foo-kin it doesn't change that some people wouldn't be all that nice and they would laugh at your name."

Roma nodded seriously, although his lips were tweaked upwards in a smirk, "That makes sense. I wondered why I heard so many people saying my name like that."

"And now you know," Rose said with a grin as she went back to her work. She enjoyed the relative quiet, but she wasn't able to for long.

"Hey Rose," Fred called, ignoring the sharp glare that Madam Pince sent his way. "We wondered where you were!"

"You knew where I was," Rose said back once they were close enough to hear without Rose earning a glare from the librarian. "And so did George."

"Well, yeah," George admitted. "Doesn't mean we didn't miss you!"

"You were pulling a prank, you didn't need me."

"Oh, Rose -" Fred tisked.

"- you should know -" George continued, shaking his head sadly.

"- that we – "

"- will always - "

"-need you," they finished together.

Fred and George flung themselves into the seats on either side of Rose, with Fred's arms around Rose's shoulders, and George's arm around her waist.

"Who are they?" Roma asked, and based on Fred and George's mild flicker of confusion he was speaking in Bulgarian.

"Fred and George Weasley," Rose indicated each twin as she spoke. "Meet-"

"Roma Tikhonovich, it nice to meet you both," Roma said in English with his accent.

"Nice to meet you too," George said with a shrug.

"Hope our girlfriend hasn't given you any trouble," Fred said, nodding his head in agreement.

Both Roma and Rose understood the very unsubtle warning; Rose was the twins and Roma better not try anything with her.

"Niet trrrouble, she has been verrry kind," Roma was quick to assure.

"Unlike you two," Rose said with fierce glares at the twins before relaxing and smiling at Roma, "Now we're even less likely to be bothered! With the twins here, most girls will cower and hide in fear that they'll prank them if they approach."

"But not zat one," Roma noticed, "she's still koming over herrre."

Rose and the twins turned to see Ginny making her way over to them.

"That's about right," Rose noted. "That's Ginny, Fred and George's little sister."

"She is very beautiful," Roma said quietly to Rose in Russian. "How old is she?"

"Thirteen," Rose said with a small smile. "And you?"

"Fifteen. Was brought along to help study."

Rose smiled slightly as Ginny reached them.

"I am so sick," Ginny said as soon as she was at the table. "Of stupid girls saying stupid things about Harry! 'Oh, Ginny, your brother is his best friend, and his sister is dating your brothers! You _must_ know what he looks like shirtless!' 'Oh, Ginny, didn't you notice the look he gave me two years ago in November? He must like me!'" Ginny growled in aggression, slamming her bookbag onto the table, earning a sharp reprimand from Madam Pince.

"You arrre needing to hide herrre vith Rrrose too?" Roma asked with interest, but only after the strict library was led away by a misbehaving second year.

"Not that I would ever hide, nor is it _any_ of your business," Ginny deflated and sat in the only chair left, between George and Roma, "but yes. Rose is the only safe person in the entire bloody castle!"

"We resent that statement!" George said, making a gesture towards Fred with his thumb.

"Yeah," Fred said sagely. "We've been the best brothers to you, Gin, why do you have to hurt us this way."

"Shut your yaps or I'll shut them for you," Gin snapped, although she did it as quietly as possible.

"Feisty," Fred, George, and Rose chorused.

Roma watched this interaction with interest before turning back to Rose, "Zis mischief. It happens all time?"

Rose nodded her head, "Unfortunate side effect of hiding out with me, I'm afraid. If it's one thing it's the other."

"Which one's which?" Ginny asked sarcastically, motioning to her brothers.

"Oh no," Rose sighed, and that's all she could get out before Fred and George started their argument over who was thing one and who was thing two.

Rose could see that Madam Pince was about to throw them all out so she quickly cast a spell to muffle all sounds from around their little area. Madam Pince seemed to appreciate that and sighed before walking out. Then, Rose's eyes lit up.

"Oh, Ginny! I'm so sorry, but… Is Hermione in the library?" Rose asked as she stood up and accidentally bumped Ginny's arm as she was writing.

"Yeah," Ginny said with a sigh. "She always is, isn't she?"

Rose nodded, "All of you play nice with Roma until I get back. Actually, maybe you should all pack up. You included, Roma."

With that, Rose set off in search for the resident know-it-all. It actually wasn't all that hard to find her, for which Rose was grateful. Hermione was whispering harshly to Harry, and showing him some sort of spell as Rose approached, but when she was Rose she relaxed.

"Rose, what brings you here?" Hermione asked. "You're normally off in one of the corners."

"I left my people over there to find you, actually. I have something to show you and Harry," Rose's face turned Red. "I was supposed to show you last year but…"

"Everything was crazy last year," Harry offered as he rubbed his scar absentmindedly.

"Exactly. Will you guys pack up and follow me? I promise we aren't going far. Just to collect Roma, the twins, and Ginny, and then to our destination."

"Roma?" Harry and Hermione asked although Harry's was much harsher.

"He's a Durmstrang guy," Rose offered with a shrug. "He's using me to hide from girls who want information on Krum."

Harry and Hermione shrugged, seeing that as entirely understandable, and packed up their stuff before following Rose back to her corner, where everyone was packed up and the twins were bouncing eagerly.

"What are you going to show us, Rose?" they chorused their eyes gleaming with excitement, thinking of the animals she had shown them before.

"Well… You see, I discovered some things last year," Rose gently patted Roma's arm, as he looked around nervously as he realized he was the odd man out. "I found some pretty cool things, too. Like… if you all will touch me? Doesn't matter if it's a whole hand or just a finger," Rose said as she walked over to the bookcase that held her secret, searching for the one book she needed.

"What are-?"

Harry never got to finish his question as Rose tugged heavily on the book about the Hogwarts Ghosts. The whirring and magical buzzing that Rose had heard the first time happened again and all of them disappeared, leaving no witnesses to their disappearance.

"Bloody hell!" Fred yelled as soon as his eyes opened, apparently being the bravest of the group. The other Hogwarts students gasped too, besides Hermione. Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she looked around and she held her mouth in her hands.

"Oh Merlin, look at that!" George yelped as he pointed to the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw.

" _That_ ," the severe woman spoke, "happens to be a _she_ , lad."

Hermione squeaked and collapsed onto the floor in front of the portrait, "You're Rowena Ravenclaw! You're… You're her! Oh, it's so good to meet you!"

Roma was looking around in confusion before glancing at Rose with raised eyebrows. She pulled him over and spoke to him quickly, knowing her earrings would translate anything necessary, "This is the study of one of the Founders of Hogwarts, Rowena Ravenclaw. She's who everyone looks up to for intellect and wit. She's a legend, here in Britain, but I understand that that doesn't matter to you. I brought you here because you were looking for a place to hide, and you're supposed to be helping Krum with research. If there's anything obscure you need, it'll likely be here."

Roma looked at Rose for a second before his face broke into a grin and he hugged Rose, "You do not know me and yet you share this secret with me. I am very surprised, and honored."

Rose blushed and was about to reply when Fred cleared his throat, "Time's up, mate," he said as he tapped Roma's shoulder. "No more hugging. Back up a bit now."

Rose glared at him as Roma backed off, "No need to be rude, Fred. He was just thanking me for the quiet place."

Fred sighed and shrugged at Roma as if to say he couldn't really help it. Roma just nodded his head, somehow understanding. Rose didn't question it, and even if she had wanted to she wasn't allowed to.

"Miss Potter," Ravenclaw's voice called out to her, causing Rose to turn to look at her. "How have you been doing? None of us have seen you this year."

Rose blushed lightly and shuffled her feet as everyone stared at her, "Honestly? I've been very busy. And I haven't even _seen_ Slytherin yet." Rose collapsed onto a chair near one of the bookcases and sighed tiredly. "But you'll have more people to talk to now that all of these guys know about you!"

"Yes," Ravenclaw agreed. "But one of them does not bear our School's crest. Care to explain?"

"I frrrom Durrrmstrrrang, Madame Rrravenclaw," Roma said haltingly. "It pleasurrre to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Ravenclaw said with a small smile before looking over everyone, "introductions?"

Hermione stood happily, "I'm Hermione Granger! That's Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and Roma…"

"Tikhonovich," Roma offered helpfully.

"Roma Tikhonovich, and you already know Rose Potter."

Ravenclaw nodded her head, "And I, obviously, am Rowena Ravenclaw. Welcome to my study, feel free to return whenever you want to, and bring other like-minded individuals. I still have yet to meet a Ravenclaw from this generation."

Harry laughed, "No, but you've met Rose and Hermione. They might as well be Ravenclaws. Top of the year and they're always trying to be smarter than the other one."

"That's not all Ravenclaw is about," Rowena said with a small frown. "I taught my students to be intelligent, yes, but they also had to be wise. I nurtured their creativity, originality, and individuality. I taught them acceptance of what is different because without differences the world never moves forward."

"Here here!" Rose and Roma called. Rose and Roma looked at each other and smiled, thinking it was hilarious that even though they had only just met today they still thought similarly.

After a while of talking to each other and the Portrait of Ravenclaw everyone settled down and set up around the room to study, or do work, or to plan pranks. Harry was practicing the accio spell, and Ravenclaw attempted to help him. Rose just smiled at the people in the room and relaxed into her seat to start working on her newest spell creation. She needed a spell that would distribute the food to all of the Dragons at the same time, and her idea was that if she created it she could sell it to the Dragon Reserves, and keep it for her own use for her trunk. Using _Wingardium Leviosa_ was nice and all, but not all animals got their food at the same time that way.

She worked on the Arithmancy behind the spell and slowly worked her way through figuring out what words she should apply to it. She figured that this was one of the issues with vocal spells. If you weren't speaking the spell you could do anything your imagination created, but, if you were young like Rose, you likely weren't going to be able to use incantless magic yet. Suddenly, the missing variable of the Arithmancy problem appeared in her mind and she smiled happily.

"Is anyone hungry?" she called.

"Yes!" Fred, George, Ginny, and Harry instantly replied.

"I could probably eat," Hermione noted.

"Food sounds nice," Roma said with a nod.

"What do you all want? Just snacks."

"Cake," Fred and George said without a pause making Rose blush.

"I want cookies!" Ginny said.

"Prrretzels?" Roma said, but more like a question than anything else.

"Treacle tart," Harry said eagerly.

"I'll have some pretzels too," Hermione said, nodding at Roma.

Rose nodded, "Zolsy!"

Zolsy popped into existence next to Rose and bowed low before righting herself, "Yes Mistress?"

"I'd appreciate it if you could bring my friends and me some snacks. We want cake, cookies, pretzels, and treacle tart."

"Of course, Mistress, Zolsy will be quick!" Zolsy said before she disappeared.

"You have house elf?" Roma asked.

"Yeah, I didn't know either," Ginny said with a pout.

"I do. It's a secret, though, and I don't usually use her, but I have a spell to test."

Before too much longer Zolsy appeared with a tray that held all of the snacks, along with some Elf Tea for Rose.

"Thank you, Zolsy. I really appreciate the help," Rose said as she took the tray from the elf and set it on a small side table.

"Of course Mistress, Zolsy is happy to be helping."

Zolsy popped away again and pulled her wand out, pointing it at the tray of food, before incanting, _"Vade ad te voluit!"_ she made a wide sweeping motion with her wand arm before bringing it down sharply.

The food all gently levitated to the people who wanted them, and Rose smirked proudly.

"Wow, Rose!" Hermione said as she stared at Rose. "I've never heard of that spell before!"

"No one has," Rose said with a shrug. "I just made it. I'm gonna sell it too, I think I can make some money off of it."

"But you just made a spell! Rose, that's amazing!" Hermione said, completely baffled. "You should at least get some recognition for it!"

"Oh, I'm sure I will," Rose said absentmindedly as she accepted a forkful of cake from George. "But I'm not currently worried about it."

"Your magical core is very impressive, Miss Potter," Ravenclaw noted. "You just cast a rather complicated spell with no difficulty."

"Well, it's really about intent. Yeah, it's a bit hard at first, but you have to fuel it. Magic is a bit like a fire. At first, it's a spark. And then it gets stronger. But if you don't give it fuel, and you never work it, then you'll never learn the fire's true potential."

"Yeah, you were supposed to be a Ravenclaw," George said with a nod.

"Well, I almost was," Rose consented. "But I'm a Gryffindor none the less."

"My house would have been honored to have you, Miss Potter," Ravenclaw assured.

"Thank you, ma'am, it means a lot to hear that from you."

* * *

Rose burst into the twins room, ignoring Lee's squeal of shock, and launched herself at the closest twin, Fred, and laughed happily. "I did it! I did it!"

"What'd you do?" Fred asked as he caught her easily in his arms, leaving George to stir the bubbling cauldron that Rose had ignored.

"First of all-" Rose gave Fred an earth shattering kiss before doing the same to George and ignoring Lee's complaints. "I made so much money off of that spell! Gringotts made sure I got a lot, and I'll be mentioned in future books, _and_ I did something else!"

"What else did you do?" George asked, ignoring the cauldron as Fred had set a stasis charm on it.

"I figured out a partial transformation!"

"Aren't you _not_ supposed to do that?" George wondered as Fred nodded his head vigorously.

"Well, yes, I know that. BUT if you do figure it out, imagine all the benefits it could give you! Imagine aurors who have bat hearing, or can sniff out people with their nose alone? There's so much potential!"

"Wait, you're animagus's?!" Lee asked.

"Get with the times, Lee," Fred said with a roll of his eyes. "Have been for a while now."

"Be nice," Rose scolded before turning to Lee. "That's sort of how we have passwords on our maps. They're vaguely based off of our animagus forms."

"What are you, Rose?" Lee asked excitedly.

"Black Jaguar," Rose said with a smirk. "After all, Feline's _are_ superior to Canines."

"As if!" Fred and George yelled.

"I take it they're Canines?" Lee asked.

Rose nodded, "A Wolf and a Coyote."

Lee smiled, "Well, congratulations, you lot."

"Thank you!" they chorused before Rose turned back to the twins. "As I was saying. Sure, it's not specifically said to be a good thing, but it can't be bad either! If I tap into my animal shape, then I could see better in the dark, hear better, smell better, hell, if I decided to keep my tail-"

"It would be adorable!" George and Fred yelled.

"- it could even improve my balance," Rose finished as if she hadn't been interrupted.

"How do you suppose you're going to convince Aurors of that?" Fred asked, hoping to burst her bubble a bit so she'd be more realistic.

"Easy. I talk to Gringott's again. I ask that the keep the fact it was me anonymous, and that they send it to the DMLE, asking to have it confirmed that it is possible by the DoM, and that if it _is_ possible and _is_ safe, we will sell the information of _how_ to them for a sum of money."

"But couldn't they just ask the DoM?" George asked.

"Well, no. The DoM has to keep their work a secret, you know? So, if they figure out a way to, they wouldn't be allowed to tell until they got permission from their superiors. That would take ages, and the DMLE would want the information right away."

"You're terrifying," Lee said with wide eyes.

"Yes," Rose answered simply before looking at her watch. "I need to get to sleep guys. Something tells me tomorrow will be busy."

"Sleeping in here tonight?" Lee asked.

"In my trunk, specifically," Rose said with a sigh. "I've given strict orders to not bother me today."

"Because that always works," George said.

"Do we get to sleep in the trunk too?" Fred asked.

"Sure. You have to deal with Eddie sleeping with us too tonight, though, he apparently hasn't been sleeping well and all of my watchers say he's been crying for me."

"Of course," the twins said.

"We can't take a kid away from his mum, can we?" George said with a grin.

Rose's eyes filled with tears and she launched herself at him. "You're the absolute best!"

"Oh, Merlin!" Lee yelped, rushing away from George, "There are tears! I'm too sweet to get wet!"

"Is that what that smell is?" Fred asked with a glare, although the glare dropped when Rose laughed.

"Come on, you guys need to go in first, then I'll come by with Eddie. Do you want to see Eddie again, Lee?"

"Will he still like me?" Lee asked in interest as he watched Rose mess with her trunk.

"Of course, that is, unless you don't like me anymore?"

"I would never!" Lee yelled, paling partially because of her insinuation that he could stop liking her and the twin's sudden death glares in his direction.

"Then we're fine. In you go, Fred, George," Rose said as she opened the lid.

Fred and George had a small scuffle as they argued about who got in first before George just dove in making Rose and Fred flinch. There was a faint "I'm okay!" and then Fred did the same thing. Rose just shut the lid while shaking her lid.

"Am I coming in with you?" Lee asked as she opened the trunk again.

"No, I'll bring Eddie out here. He's wanted to see the twin's area for a while anyways."

"Sounds good to me," Lee said as he watched Rose disappear into the trunk. He heard the growl that signaled she had found Eddie, and a thump as the trunk shook slightly, her having left the lid open, before Eddie's Giant paws slipped out of the trunk and started pulling him out, his head and inflatable neck coming next. Slowly his giant form pushed its way out of the trunk, and with him came the smell of chocolate. As his feet hit solid ground he huffed and began prowling around the room. Rose made her way out of the trunk too and frowned at Eddie.

"Did you even say hi to Lee, Mister?" Rose asked with her hands on her hips.

The chocolate smell changed suddenly to the smell of a summer pudding as Eddie lowered his head before turning to Lee and rubbing against him with a thundering purr.

"Hi, Eddie," Lee said with a giant grin. "I can't believe I was so terrified of you before.

Eddie, in true Eddie form, said, "Murr!" obviously meaning he couldn't believe it either.

Rose shook her head and smiled at Lee, not explaining exactly what the Nundu had said, "Alright, Lee, I guess I have to take this lovey baby away from you again. It's bedtime for a baby Nundu."

"Baby?" Lee squeaked at the same time Eddie said, "Merowl!"

"Yes, he is a baby, and yes, it is bed time," Rose opened the trunk lid and motioned to Eddie. "Get in Mister, or I'll have to ground you."

Eddie stared at her incredulously, and Lee snorted out his laughter making Eddie huff in annoyance. Eddie flicked his tail before finally moving towards the trunk making angry noises the whole way.

"Don't talk to me like that or I'll be forced to stop you from talking to Marsha!"

The whine that Eddie released was probably the most pitiful thing that Lee had ever heard in his life. He rubbed his head against Rose's hip as the summer pudding smell disappeared and was replaced by vanilla and lavender.

"In," Rose said, pointing at the trunk. Eddie stepped into the trunk and was sucked in. Rose turned to Lee and smiled brightly at him. "If anyone does come looking for the twins and I you better have a good excuse that isn't sexual."

"Of course, Milady," Lee said with a bow. Rose smiled and hugged him.

"Good night, Lee," she said before she went into the trunk, snapping the lid closed after her. She immediately heard uproarious laughter and followed the sound to where the twins were laying with Eddie on their giant bed.

"What took you so long?" Fred wheezed from underneath the purring Nundu.

"You missed Eddie pouncing on Fred!" George said, pointing at Fred, still laughing. Eddie, however, flicked his tail so it hit George in the face, which made George stop immediately.

Rose shook her head and smiled, "I was telling Lee goodnight. Now, did you two at least get pajamas on? I can tell you did, George, but I can't see you, Fred."

"Because I'm dying to death!" Fred called.

"Impressive," Rose said dismissively. "Eddie-baby, come to Momma!"

Eddie purred and jumped off of Fred to walk over to Rose, rubbing against her.

Rose looked at Fred, who was indeed wearing pajamas and smiled. "Did you have to pin him down baby boy? You're bigger than him, you need to be careful."

Eddie released a mournful "Mrow" and walked back over to Fred, licking his face to make it up to him.

"You're fine, Eddie," Fred said as he rubbed the Feline's ears. "Let's just not do it again."

Rose crawled into the middle of the bed, between Fred and George, and got Eddie to lay at their feet. She relaxed and smiled happily as she was lulled to sleep by Eddie's purrs, George's smell, and Fred's hand rubbing up and down her arm.

 _Rose opened her eyes and looked around in confusion. She felt like she had been here before but she couldn't remember it clearly. All she could see were grassy hills and flowers, but something told her she was missing something. She turned around and saw a woman sitting on a rock. Suddenly everything clicked and she frowned at the woman. It wasn't Lady Magic because her form wasn't ever changing._

 _In fact, she was quite stationary. She had a dark cowl on that partially hid her face in shadow, but Rose could see enough of her to notice the fine wrinkles on her face – from frowning, not smiling – and the stunningly blue eyes. The woman's hands, which looked slightly arthritic, were melding together many strings, some only meeting for seconds, and others running side by side._

" _Hello?" Rose finally spoke up._

 _The woman looked up, her cowl falling back slightly, enough for Rose to see that her hair was purple. "Rose Potter. I wondered when you'd speak up."_

" _I'm sorry, I don't know who you are," Rose said as she bit her lower lip and approached the mysterious woman._

" _Fate," she said with a small shrug of her slightly hunched shoulders. "You've met my sister, Magic, and I thought I should visit you as well. I know she even spoke the true language in front of you."_

" _The true language?" Rose asked with wide eyes, reaching to her ears and realizing that they weren't pierced wherever they were._

" _Yes," Fate said, watching Rose's movements closely. "The true language. It's a language all beings know, but none understand. Well, almost none. Essentially it's a lost art. I made it so with my two one hands."_

 _Fate looked down at her hands which had seemingly moved all on their own, and Rose was shocked at the number of colors, but stayed quiet, somehow knowing that Fate wasn't done speaking._

" _I even know what she said. She said, 'I, Ladua Nagaiek, bless the union between George Weasley, Rose Potter, and Fred Weasley. So mote it be!' Ladua is lady. Nagaiek is her name, her true name. Mine, for the record," Fate sent Rose a harsh glare. "Is Phatei. I don't expect you to ever use any of our true names and if you do…" she snipped a piece of string with an ominous decisiveness. Fate watched a string fall to the ground sadly before speaking again. "Our sister, Love, was very hurt that Magic blessed the union instead of her. So, you may also get a visit from her. Do be nice to her."_

 _Rose knew that Fate was done speaking now, and finally spoke up, "Why are you talking to me anyways? I don't ask you guys to? I don't want any special treatment!"_

" _Oh, Rose," Fate shook her head sadly. "Special treatment is part of who you are. It's how you were built. It's not every day that all of my family members come together to work on a project, after all. You've been blessed, child," Fate's blue eyes settled into a hardness that chilled Rose. "just as you have been cursed. Even I am not sure which is which."_

" _Why did you all work on me? How did you all work on me?" Rose's voice shook. She wasn't sure if it was in fear or anger._

 _Fate tapped the side of her nose with her dangerously sharp scissors, "Ah, ah, Rose! We've got to keep some secrets for ourselves, right?"_

 _Rose winced and closed her eyes. Why was it always her?_

" _Anyways," Fate stood as suddenly all of the dangling strings were gone from whatever life she had created in front of Rose. "It's time for me to go. I just wanted to confirm for myself that you were indeed progressing how I wanted you too. I think you're doing well. Now, shoo!"_

 _A gust of wind came and blew Rose up, up, and away._


	18. Chapter 18

"I'm not ready for today," Rose whined, curled up to Fred's chest as they listened to George going around their bathroom to get ready for the day.

"I am. I have some bets going on about the happenings of today," Fred said with a grin.

"You what?"

"You heard me," Fred said unrepentantly. "I reckon your brother will be the only one to get out uninjured. That's all I bet."

"You swear to Merlin?"

"'Course. I'd never lie to you, Spitfire. Check for yourself."

Rose lightly pursued his thoughts and found that he was being honest. She relaxed against his chest and smiled, "You know, I have a feeling that I had a weird dream last night. I just can't remember what it was."

"If it's important you will."

George walked out of the bathroom and, seeing the position Fred and Rose were in, grinned before sliding back into bed. "Your turn, Fred. I'll take the Princess."

"But-"

Fred's arguments didn't gain ground as George wrapped his arms around Rose and easily moved her so she was on his chest.

"I guess I'll get ready," Fred said with a sigh.

"Don't get lost," Rose muttered tiredly, making Fred roll his eyes and George laugh breathily. George's hands were wandering through her hair and she closed her eyes and relaxed again. If she were in her cat form she'd be purring, so instead, she prodded Eddie with her toe, making him purr and shake the bed slightly.

"So, gonna send that letter off to Gringotts today?" George asked quietly.

"About the partial transformation?"

"Yes."

Rose hummed thoughtfully, "Probably."

George nodded and kissed her head gently, "I think you with cat ears would be cute. Granted, you're always cute, but it would be super cute."

Rose laughed as much as she could in her groggy state and relaxed against him. "I don't want to go to classes today."

"I know, but you still need to."

Rose nodded and sighed sadly, "I'll accept that I guess."

"Alright, Spitfire, it's your turn," Fred said as he walked out of the bathroom, fixing his tie.

"And if I don't want to?"

"Well, we would gladly let you walk around Hogwarts like that," Fred said gesturing to her short shorts and giant t-shirt (courtesy of Remus, unbeknownst to him), "but you couldn't get mad at us for hexing anyone who looks at you."

"That seems like a terrible idea."

"Then get ready, Princess," George said into her hair.

"Fine… But only if one of you brushes my hair!"

"We'll both work on it," the twins said together.

After the twins brushed her hair and she got dressed the day passed strangely for Rose. The time was either racing or slow, and she couldn't seem to recall anything that happened. She knew that during breakfast she had almost punched Lavender for walking up behind her and that History of Magic had been mind-numbingly boring, but that was the extent. She ate a sandwich for lunch, and then excused herself, making her way down to the arena and to where the other Dragon Tamers were.

"Alright!" Raymond called out, once he saw her. "Listen up! We've decided the order that the Dragons'll be going out! Swedish Short-Snout, Welsh Green, Chinese Fireball, then Hungarian Horntail! If anything happens out there, I put Rose in charge!"

"WHAT?!" Rose and everyone around her yelled.

"She's just a kid!" someone in the back yelled.

"She's small!

"She's inexperienced!"

"She's still in school!"

"She's small!"

"She can hear you all!" Rose finally snapped, quieting them all down.

"See?" Raymond grinned. "Look at that! She shut you all down with only five words! The Dragons all listen to her, and she slept with the Horntail wrapped around her. I imagine that she'll do just fine out there."

"But nothing's going to go wrong," Rose suddenly pressed. "We all know what to do, and I'm sure everything will end well."

"I'm sure it will too," Raymond said, and no one could tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "Anyways, let's get the Swedish Short-Snout out there so they can begin."

Rose groaned and shook her head, helping them coerce the Swedish Short-Snout out into the open, by leading her with her eggs before setting them down in an 'easily protectable' place.

Before they knew it, the crowd was gathered, and Rose was pacing and muttering under her breath.

"Rose," Charlie said as he walked up to her. "Calm down. We're all here to make sure nothing happens."

"Yeah, well, if something happens to Harry I may accidentally kill someone. Or a dragon. Or both."

"Rose," Charlie gently admonished in his big brother voice. A voice that Rose had always taken comfort in.

Rose turned and pressed her face into Charlie's broad chest and sniffled quietly, "I don't want Harry involved in this, Charlie! He didn't ask for it!"

Charlie's arms wrapped around her and he kissed her hair while rubbing her back, "Don't worry about it, Rosey Posey. He'll be just fine. He has you looking out for him."

"But I wasn't allowed to help!" Rose cried as she clung tighter to Charlie. "I wasn't allowed to help him at all! I could only give him the barest amount of assistance!"

"He'll be fine."

Charlie's firmness on the matter calmed her down slightly but she still felt nervous. Her nerves only raised when a whistle was blown and Cedric slowly made his way into the ring. He created a dog from a rock and while the dragon was distracted he approached. Sadly, even though the Short-Snout had moved away from the nest to investigate the dog, it wasn't very happy about him grabbing an egg from its nest. The blast of flame that she emitted grazed Cedric's shoulder, and Rose immediately rushed in with the others, stunning the angry mother quickly.

They removed the dragon and her nest carefully, Rose starting to pace again once she reached the sidelines. They got the Common Welsh Green into the arena with her eggs and the fake one before they retreated again. The whistle was blown, and Rose almost cried when she saw that it was Fleur who entered the ring. That meant that Harry either had the Chinese Fireball or Hungarian Horntail and if she was right…

Before she knew it, they were removing the Welsh Green and putting the Chinese Fireball in there. Rose was terrified, absolutely terrified, as the whistle was blown. Krum walked out.

Rose broke down into tears until Raymond roughly told her to get it together, and that she had a job to do. Rose yelled at him for a moment, venting her frustrations, before she crumpled into herself and nodded. She got a rough pat on the back from him, knowing that she refused to hug him in his shirtless state, and Rose gained an inner strength she didn't think she had. She screamed with rage and had to be held back when Krum hit the Chinese Fireball in the eye with a Conjunctivitis Curse, causing the soon to be mother to crush some of her already rare eggs.

"How dare he!" Rose seethed as she helped remove the dragon. "How fucking dare he!"

"Nothing we can do about it," Raymond said gruffly, although Rose noticed the extra moisture in his eyes.

Finally, it was time for Harry. And time for Harry meant time for the Hungarian Horntail. As Rose helped move Firefly in she whispered urgently to the Dragon.

"This is my brother, my only brother. My nest mate, my only family. Please, please, don't hurt him. Purposefully miss. He won't hurt you, he's just like me."

"Can he speak to me?" she heard the dragon's quiet reply.

"I hope so."

"I shall consider it."

Rose and the others left the arena.

The whistle was blown.

Harry walked into the arena.

He and Firefly immediately locked gazes. Firefly bristled slightly at the mere sight of him but didn't act on it.

Harry didn't move besides to raise his wand and shout, _"Accio Firebolt!"_

"Harry! No!" Rose yelled, wanting to rush in there, but Charlie held her back.

"Rose! Stop it!" Charlie said sternly into her head. "Nothing has even happened."

"She's going to think he's challenging her!" Rose cried. "No!"

Charlie silenced Rose and she clung to his arms, terrified of what Harry was doing but unable to look away. The Firebolt hurtled towards Harry around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure, and stopping dead in midair beside him, waiting for him to mount. The crowd was screaming and yelling, just as Rose wanted to do, Bagman was shouting something… Rose's ears weren't working properly anymore… listening wasn't important…

 _Harry…._

Rose watched as her brother swung his leg over the broom and kicked off from the ground. A second later Harry shot into the sky, so high he was merely a speck.

 _Harry, no!_

He dove to the ground, Firefly's head following him… with a great jet of flames that should have him Firefly roared, "Stop moving, Rose's nestmate!"

Harry soared higher in a circle; Firefly still following his progress, growling, and grumbling about how stupid he was and that she just didn't appreciate him like she appreciated Rose; her head was revolving on its long neck – if he kept it up, she would likely be dizzy – but if he pushed it to long…

Harry plummeted just as Firefly opened her mouth, but this time he was less lucky – he missed the flames, but the tail came whipping up to meet him instead, and as he swerved to the left, one of the long spikes grazed his shoulder, ripping his robes-

Rose was crying silently, only standing because Charlie's arms held her up.

The injury in Harry seemed to wake him up slightly, though, and he dropped down to the ground in front of Firefly. Firefly opened her mouth, likely to breathe fire again, but she stopped as Harry made motions at her and her nest. Firefly's head was tilted slightly as she looked at Harry and the nest, before she picked Harry up by the robe and dropped him into the nest with her eggs before laying over the nest again.

The crowd gasped and screamed and Rose started laughing under the silencing spell. Firefly looked very proud of herself and Rose could practically feel the smugness rolling off of the dragon in waves. The other Dragon Handlers were about to rush in but Rose stopped them with her arms spread out, Charlie taking her silencing spell off.

"Just watch," Rose said as she stared at the arena. The crowd, not seeing the Dragon Handler's rushing in hushed to near silence and you could hear Harry yelling underneath the Dragon.

"Get off! Get off get off! Bloody hell you great beast! I just wanted to get the fake egg! There's no need to bloody sit on me!"

Firefly grumbled, great billowing streams of smoke coming from her nostrils.

"It's hard to breathe in here! Let me out!"

Firefly seemed to be irritated by that, "Take your punishment! Next time don't go flying around a dragon! What if I hadn't known Rose? What if I wanted to eat you! Maybe I'll still eat you!"

Rose laughed loudly, the crowd hearing it but not knowing where she was. Harry didn't understand Firefly, but suddenly understood that Rose did, and yelled out again, "Rose! Get your great beast off of me! You put it up to this!"

"IT?!" Firefly roared fire flying from her mouth before she stuck her head into the nest underneath her to retrieve a disgruntled Harry who was clutching onto the golden egg. Firefly roared into his face, although relatively quietly, and Harry made a face.

"That was rude!" Harry yelled as he stormed off.

"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!"

Rose went to the medical tent and the other Dragon Keepers rushed forward to get Firefly out of the area with her nest. Harry grabbed his firebolt, doing a victory lap before he went in for a smooth landing to get praised by Professor McGonagall, Professor Moody, and Hagrid. Rose was waiting at the mouth of the first aid tent with Madam Pomfrey.

"Dragons!" Madam Pomfrey said in a disgusted tone, pulling Harry inside. The tent was divided into cubicles; she could make out Cedric's shadow through the canvas, and Rose was very happy that he wasn't too injured. Madam Pomfrey examined Harry's shoulder, talking furiously all the while. "Last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into the school next?"

"A Cerberus?" Rose muttered under her breath.

"You're very lucky… this is quite shallow… it'll need cleaning up before I heal it up, though…"

She cleaned the cut with a dab of some purple liquid that smoked, but then poked his shoulder with her want, and Rose watched the skin knit together instantly.

"Now, just sit quietly for a minute – _sit_! And then you can go and get your score."

She went over to Cedric's tent and Rose sat next to Harry.

"Best of both worlds?" Rose asked.

"I wasn't going to not fly. Then I would've learned Accio for no reason," Harry said with a roguish wink.

"Let me guess, you did that just to give me a panic attack?"

"Definitely," Harry said.

Rose punched his arm and shook her head, "Arse."

Hermione, followed closely by Ron, rushed into the tent.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione said squeakily. There were fingernail marks on her face where she had been clutching it in fear. "You were amazing! You really were!"

But Harry was looking at Ron, who was very pale and staring at Harry as though he were a ghost.

"Harry," he said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet – I – I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

Rose's eyes turned cold but Hermione stopped her from speaking, telling her silently to let Harry handle this.

"Caught on, have you?" said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough."

Ron opened his mouth uncertainly. Rose knew Ron was about to apologize but Harry spoke before he got the chance to. "It's okay," he said. "Forget it."

"No," said Ron, "I shouldn't've –"

" _Forget it,"_ Harry said.

Ron grinned nervously at him, and Harry grinned back.

Hermione burst into tears.

"There's nothing to cry about!" Harry told her, bewildered.

"You two are so _stupid_!" she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down her front.

"Boys are stupid in general," Rose said with a smile.

Before either of them could stop her, Hermione had given them both a hug and dashed away, not positively howling.

"Barking mad," said Ron, shaking his head.

"Like you?" Rose said.

Ron ignored her. "Harry, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores…."

Picking up the golden egg and his Firebolt, Harry let Ron and Rose lead him out of the tent. Ron wouldn't shut up.

"You were the best, you know, no competition. Cedric did this weird thing where he Transfigured a rock on the ground… turned it into a dog… he was trying to make the dragon go for the dog instead of him. Well, it was a pretty cool bit of Transfiguration, and it sort of worked, because he did get the egg, but he got burned as well – the dragon changed its mind halfway through and decided it would rather have him than the Labrador; he only just got away. And that Fleur girl tried this sort of charm, I think she was trying to put it into a trance – well, that kind of worked too, it went all sleepy, but then it snored and this great jet of flame shot out, and her skirt caught fire – she put it out with a bit of water out of her wand. And Krum – you won't believe this, but he didn't even think of flying! He was probably the best after you, though. Hit it wish some sort of spell right in the eye. Only thing is, it went trampling around in agony and squashed half the real eggs – they took marks off for that, he wasn't supposed to do any damage to them."

"You're bloody well right they weren't supposed to!" Rose snapped. "Dragons are precious creatures, and rare at that! Crushing their eggs should be illegal!" They were at the edge of the enclosure now, and Firefly had been removed. The five judges were sitting at the other end, in raised seats draped in gold. "And honestly!" Rose continued her tirade. "They should have let us put _all_ fake eggs in, but only the gold one looking fake! I mean, we just lost some… The eggs were crushed… The Chinese Fireball must be devastated…"

"It's marked out of ten from each one," Ron said, trying to distract Rose. They looked across the field and saw the first judge – Madame Maxime – raise her wand in the air. What looked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure eight.

"Not bad!" said Ron as the crowd applauded. "I suppose she took marks off for your shoulder…."

Mr. Crouch came next. He shot a number nine into the air.

"Looking good!" Ron yelled, thumping Harry on the back. Rose grabbed his hand.

Next, Dumbledore. He too put up a nine. The crowd was cheering harder than ever.

Ludo Bagman – _ten_.

"Ten?" said Harry in disbelief. "But… I got hurt… What's he playing at?"

"Harry, don't complain!" Ron yelled excitedly.

And now Karkaroff raised his wand. He paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of his wand too – four.

" _What?"_ Ron bellowed furiously. " _Four_? You lousy, biased scumbag, you gave Krum ten!"

"He did that so they'd tie," Rose noted.

"You're tied in first place, Harry! You and Krum!" said Charlie, hurrying to meet them as they set off back toward the school. "Listen, I've got to run, I've got to go and send Mum an owl, I swore I'd tell her what happened – but that was unbelievable! Oh yeah – and they told me to tell you you've got to hand around for a few more minutes…. Bagman wants a word, back in the champions' tent."

Ron offered to wait for Harry, but Rose went off with Charlie back to the Dragon's area. They were working on getting everything packed up so that they could take the Dragon's home that night, knowing that they would all be very stressed if they didn't.

Rose walked up to the Chinese Fireball, who was lording over her nest more anxiously than normal.

"Ma'am…?" Rose said quietly as she was almost against the bars.

"My eggs!" the dragon yelled glaring at Rose, smoke billowing from her open mouth.

"I know," Rose cooed. "I'd never take them or hurt them. I do, however, want to apologize to you… It was supposed to be our job to make sure nothing happened… but we failed and you're paying the price for that…"

"My eggs…" the dragon's rusty voice cracked slightly as she stared at Rose. "You're small… Are you a nestling?"

"Pretty much," Rose said with a nod. "My name's Rose. And yours?"

"Tiamat. Are you an egg protector?"

"Yes."

Tiamat relaxed further, "Do you think… Do you think it's better that my eggs didn't make it? Perhaps if I crushed them –"

"Don't think like that!" Rose snapped. "You'll be a great mother! It's not your fault that an egg-giver, a _nest raider_ decided to attack you and practically forced you to crush your own eggs! What if he had decided to take those too?"

Rose, of course, knew that that wouldn't have happened. She couldn't allow Tiamat to think like that, though, she didn't want the soon to be mother to feel as if she wasn't worthy of her own children.

"You're right, nestling Rose. He could have hurt them all, or taken them all. Not all humans are as good as our humans."

"You're very right," Rose said her hand brushing against the scar on her forehead. She looked over at the Dragon Handlers who were about to take the dragons away. "I just wanted to wish you luck, Tiamat. I need to go say goodbye to Firefly, though."

"Your luck is appreciated, nestling Rose."

Rose hurried over to Firefly, pressing herself against the bars, "Firefly! Thank you so much!"

"I wouldn't hurt your nest mate," Firefly said with a sniff. "Even if he was annoying and taunting me."

"You did swat him a bit with your tail, but I'm fine with that. He was taunting you."

Firefly snorted smoke at Rose, "I wished to do worse. But he did take the imposter from me. Speaking of which…" Firefly gently raised an egg into her mouth before dropping it into Rose's arms. "Take care of my egg, Rose."

"What?" Rose's eyes were wide and panicked. "No no no! It's yours! You need to… You need to take care of it! I can't!" Rose tried to push the egg back to the Dragon.

"No. You need someone to look over you. Your nestmate isn't very intelligent if he won't listen to you, and I haven't met your mates. My child will look over you."

"I don't know how to raise a dragon!" Rose yelled, even as the cage started vibrating, symbolizing that the dragon was about to be gone, making Rose back up, the egg firmly in her arms.

"You'll learn. If it's a boy… I want you to name him Emery. If it's a girl, name her Melusine."

"Firefly!" Rose yelled at the Dragon, but with a flash of light, the cage was gone, leaving Rose in a near empty clearing with a Dragon egg in her arm.

"Oh, Merlin!" Rose yelped, running over to Charlie, who had watched the exchange at a distance, "She wouldn't take it back! She refused! Charlie, it's _illegal_ to own a Dragon! I'm in school! How am I supposed to raise a _Dragon_?!"

Charlie had a large grin on his face, "I'll send you manuals. But you're stuck with the egg. I'll have a talk with Dumbledore. I'm sure he'll come out here to meet you soon. For the time being, though, just put the egg right next to that fire."

Rose put the egg next to the fire and stood next to it anxiously as Charlie went to get Dumbledore. Rose was panicking very thoroughly as she constantly fidgeted with the egg to make sure it had an even temperature throughout it before she growled with anger and formed a ring of fire on the ground, placing the egg firmly inside of it.

"I'm so sorry," Rose said to the egg that seemed to stare through her without having eyes. "I didn't want her to give you to me. I wanted you to be with your mum. I'll try to let you meet her one day but she's all the way in Romania and we're only in England, technically Scotland right now, but regardless I just really want you to be happy! Oh, Merlin I'm so terrified."

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Miss Potter," Dumbledore said with twinkling eyes as he walked up behind her, alone. "At least you have a proper fear of being a mother."

"I'm not a mother!" Rose yelled.

"You will be soon," Dumbledore said calmly. "Regardless, you'll need paperwork to be allowed to care for the Dragon you've acquired. What breed is it?"

"Hungarian Horntail," Rose said, putting herself between Dumbledore and the egg, suddenly remembering that he was one of the ones who helped come up with the twelve uses for Dragon's blood.

"You'll be a wonderful mother indeed. Have the Weasley twins been notified about being parents?"

"No! I've been watching over a dragon egg and they're _not_ parents!"

"Oh? You'd rather someone else be the father?"

"Argh!" Rose screeched. "I'm not the mother! They can't be fathers if I'm not a mother!"

"Indeed," Dumbledore chuckled. "I'll talk to Cornelius. You'll just have to sign some paperwork tomorrow and you will be the rightful owner of a Hungarian Horntail. You will have to inform them of name and gender when you know, though."

Rose groaned, "But what about school? I'm a student!"

"A very bright one," Dumbledore acknowledged. "You get the egg hatched and then we'll talk about you returning to your classes."

"Wait, you're taking me out of classes?"

"I imagine you'll be getting plenty of education without attending classes," Dumbledore's damningly blue eyes said with their twinkle.

"I think I hate you," Rose said calmly.

"Why, Miss Potter, hate is such a strong word! I imagine you won't hate me nearly as much once your child is born – or rather – hatched."

"I really hate you," Rose growled as she snatched the egg out of the ring of fire. "I'll see you tomorrow, Professor."

"I'm sure you will," Dumbledore said with a broad smile as Rose walked away from him and up to the castle.

"How dare he?" Rose growled as she prowled through the halls, on her way to the common room. "I am not a mother! This is Firefly's egg! I can't be –"

The egg shook slightly, and Rose's eyes glazed over as she cooed at the egg, "Oh, don't worry, Momma's here!"

She walked through the entrance to the Gryffindor common room where there were decimated mountains of cakes and flagons of pumpkin juice and butterbeer on every surface. Fred was shouting as she entered.

"Canary Creams! George and I invented them – seven Sickles each, a bargain!"

Rose pushed the crowd away from the twins though and looked up at them with giant eyes, the whole common room going silent, noticing what she held in her arms.

"You're going to be fathers!" Rose yelled, barely paying attention to her surroundings.

" _What?!"_ Every Weasley in the room yelled along with Harry, Hermione, and Lee."

"I knew you were lying when you said you weren't getting up to anything!" Lee said with a loud laugh.

"We weren't!" Fred and George yelled.

"You defiled my sister!" Harry yelled.

"We didn't!" Fred and George shouted, waving their hands in surrender.

"When's it due, Rose?" Hermione asked nervously.

Rose looked down at the egg, "You know, I don't know? There's no way to tell really, I don't know when it was laid."

"What?" there were mutters of confusion going around the room.

"Boys," Rose said calmly. "Meet your new son or daughter!" Rose raised the egg so they could see it, and the twins looked like they might faint with relief.

"I thought you said you didn't do anything to my sister?" Harry snapped, noticing it.

"We haven't!" George said.

"Doesn't mean she hasn't ravaged us in our sleep without our knowledge," Fred noted.

Harry growled and Fred and George quickly used Rose as a shield.

"Harry! You're going to be an Uncle!" Rose said with a happy laugh, seemingly unaware of the tense common room, besides the people who understood exactly what was going on and thought it was hilarious.

"I'm going to bed," Rose said, ignoring Harry's gaping mouth, and Fred and George's concerned faces as she went up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. She pulled her curtains closed and froze them that way before calling for Zolsy.

"Yes, Mistress?" Zolsy asked as she appeared in front of Rose.

"I'd like you to take me to Fred and George's room, where my trunk is. I need to get in there but I don't want any attention."

"Of course, Mistress." Zolsy grabbed Rose's hand before they both disappeared with a pop and reappeared right next to Rose's trunk, staring straight at the twins.

"Thank you, Zolsy."

"You're welcome, Mistress."

With a pop, Zolsy was gone again.

"What was that about?" Fred asked with wide eyes.

"I'm going to be a mother. That means you two are fathers. Dumbledore's getting the paperwork filled."

"What?" George asked.

Rose pushed her memories of the last hour or so at the twins and watched as it registered in their minds. They both grinned and shook their heads.

"So, how are you going to take care of it?" Fred asked.

"How are _we_ going to take care of it?" George corrected.

"We'll have to make an area in the trunk. I'm sure Rover has already anticipated that though and is working on it as we speak."

"Rover?" they asked.

"A Potter houself. He works in the gardens, and he likes the outdoors."

Fred and George simply nodded, still processing everything that had happened that day. They didn't question anything else, though, and Rose was thankful when they huddled close to her and her egg so that they could keep it warmer than she could keep it on her own.

* * *

 _Lord Black,_

 _It has come to our attention that there was almost an unauthorized article posted about one of your dependents. Miss Rita Skeeter is the writer of the article and would be overjoyed if you would allow this one to go into the Daily Prophet. We enclosed a copy of the article and would like you to review it._

 _We apologize again for her actions, and we assume that she meant to send it to you for review sooner._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Otto Xunitor_

 _Head Editor of the Daily Prophet_

* * *

 _Mister Xunitor,_

 _Fire her._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Lord Sirius Black_


	19. Chapter 19

_Rose Lillian Potter,_

 _It would appear that you have been less than forthcoming with the information on what you have been getting up to at Hogwarts. I would like it if you would kindly read the enclosed article and tell me what in the bloody hell you think you were going to get by not telling us what was going on._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Your Godfather,_

 _Sirius Black_

 _P.S. You're grounded._

 _P.P.S. I'm proud of you, kid._

 _ **Potter's Unfair Advantage**_

As we're all aware, there are currently four champions in the Triwizard Tournament being held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where there are supposed to be three. The real champions are Viktor Krum, Seeker for the National Bulgarian team and student of Durmstrang; Fleur Delacour, a beautiful and feisty woman from Beauxbatons; and Cedric Diggory, son of Amos Diggory who works in the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures, from Hogwarts.

The fourth champion is one Harry Potter, otherwise known as the Boy-Who-Lived. He is only fourteen years old and somehow got his name to come out of the Goblet of Fire in a ploy to get more attention. That being said, he wasn't prepared for the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. So much so, in fact, that he had his twin sister Rose Potter integrate herself into the encampment of Dragon Handler's to get more information on each of the Dragons and what their task was.

After helping her twin cheat, Rose Potter still wasn't done! In a desperate grab for attention, Rose Potter stole an egg from the Hungarian Horntail that Harry had had to face in the competition. She jauntily showed the egg to everyone and demanded the Headmaster to put the paperwork through to make it legal for her to own it.

I don't know about you, dear readers, but I think this obscene abuse of power and authority should not go unpunished! I believe that we should make sure that Miss Potter pays for her actions and is properly punished for her crimes.

 _(For more information on the Triwizard tournament go to page _, for more information of the Hungarian Horntail go to page _)_

Rose blinked as she looked at the parchment in front of her.

"Well, that was unexpected. Perhaps I should threaten her?" Rose muttered to the egg that sat in a ring of fire next to her.

The egg, like usual, didn't do anything in response. She had taken to talking to it, though, hoping that she was keeping it 'properly stimulated' as the books Charlie had given her suggested. That being said, she was also nervous that she would stimulate it too much, and that the Hatchling would become completely reliant on her. The more curious part of her also wondered about the fact that she was a human constantly talking to the dragon egg, and if her not growling or using the proper pitches would affect anything.

She hoped it didn't affect anything.

"You know," she turned to the egg. "I'm surprised no one has tried to contact us yet. I mean, normally by now the Minister would be freaking out, the Goblins would want information, and I'd have more paperwork to fill out."

 _Pop!_

"I jinxed it didn't I?"

"Jinxed what, Mistress Potter?" Zolsy's voice spoke from behind her.

"Nothing, Zolsy. Do you need –"

Rose stopped talking as she turned and saw the large pile of paperwork that Zolsy was struggling to hold in her arms.

"Zolsy needs Mistress Potter to do paperwork. But Mistress Potter can't do paperwork in this dirty place, no she can't! Mistress also needs to be getting dressed in her good robes because Mistress's Minister and Goblin be wanting to talk to Mistress! Oh, and Mistress needs to be looking after her Bumpy, she be very hissy lately."

Rose frowned and nodded. "So. Look after Bumpy, take care of paperwork, then get dressed, then talk to the Minister and a Goblin?"

"No!" Zolsy looked insulted that Rose had gotten the order of events wrong. "Mistress will be getting dressed and talking to Mistress's Minister and Goblin, _then_ be doing paperwork, _then_ be looking after Mistress's Bumpy."

"Oh," Rose paused for a moment. "I liked my order better."

"Go!" Zolsy snapped, before pointing her finger threateningly at Rose much like a Wizard would point their wand as a misbehaving child.

"I'm going! I'm going! Going to get dressed right now!" Rose stood and turned to leave the cave she had set the egg up in before pausing again. "But… Who will watch-?"

" _Go!_ " Zolsy snapped her fingers at Rose, making her disappear and reappear in the compartment she had taken to storing miscellaneous clothes in.

Rose sighed and shook her head as she went to the closet that held all of the 'fancy' robes she had gotten her hands on. Upon opening the door she was momentarily overwhelmed with the sheer amount of clothing until she realized it was very likely that Zolsy had taken it upon herself to put any and all clothing she had found in the Potter vaults in this area.

"I should fire her," Rose mused to herself as she looked at a garish yellow robe that hung plainly in the back. Rose pulled the robe out and threw it into the corner of the room, knowing that that would be her new pile of obnoxious clothing that shouldn't be allowed to live any longer.

Robe after robe was thrown out of the closet, and none were safe. However, Rose did halt her assault on the closet rather quickly – or, rather, quicker than she thought she would – when she came across a robe that seemed to call out to her. In the closet it appeared rather drab, but when Rose grabbed it to throw it out its texture made her pause. It felt much like spring water did when you let it run through your fingers, and it's previously lifeless gray color seemed to fracture all light that hit it.

"Woah," Rose gasped as she held the robe up, noting that each strand of the silk – or at least, she assumed it was silk – reflected the light that hit it differently. Some strands became pearly, others darkened to look like granite, and some even appeared ashen or smoky. The sleeves of the robes trumpeted out, and the robe itself appeared to be long enough to cover all of Rose unless she chose to show what was underneath.

"I'm wearing you!" Rose squealed happily, before running over to the dresser where she knew her skirts were.

By the end of the 'shopping trip' in her own trunk, Rose had managed to put the robe on over a short gray plaid skirt (as short as she knew she could get away with, in fact), sheer black leggings, and a soft green shirt. She put on a pair of heeled combat boots and frowned slightly at her reflection. Honestly, she thought that she could figure out something better to wear, but she didn't want to keep the Minister of Magic waiting. She slipped the cloak onto her arms and tried not to sigh at how right it felt.

"Okay, no need to fire her," Rose amended her original statement. "Zolsy!"

 _Pop!_ "Yes, Mistress Potter?"

"Can you take me to wherever it is that I need to meet with the Minister and a Goblin?"

"Yes, Mistress Rose!" Zolsy grabbed onto Rose's hand and popped them both in and out of existence. Rose blinked away her disorientation (elf travel, while smoother than apparition, always left Rose feeling disoriented) and looked at her surroundings.

They were in an average sized, rectangular office that had coordinating wooden, metal, and glass furniture. The floor was carpeted and the walls were painted and decorated with a wallpaper border. There was a large window behind the paper-covered, and cluttered desk. In fact, one of the first things Rose could setter her eyes on was the caddy brimming with paperwork, and then the nameplate next to it that read _Secretary Staviar, Rafael_.

"Where's the Minister, or the Goblin?" Rose asked Zolsy quietly.

"They be right outside. Sit down, Mistress, I'll open the door."

"If you say so," Rose muttered nervously as she perched on the edge of one of the chairs in front of the cluttered desk. Zolsy bounded over to the door and opened it, standing straight and tall.

"Mistress Potter is being ready to see you both. You is allowed to come in."

"Ahh, yes!" Cornelius Fudge said as he strode into the room, his green bowler hat slightly lopsided. "Miss Potter, Miss Potter! It's good to be seeing you again!"

"The same to you, Minister Fudge," Rose said, with her kindest smile, allowing the Minister to bow over her hand.

"Miss Potter," Rockgut said as he came in, following the Minister with a rather nasty scowl on his face. "We meet again."

"Well met, Director Rockgut. May your gold flow and your enemies fall," Rose said, nodding her head to the Goblin in deference.

"The same to you," Rockgut said, getting into the chair next to Rose while Fudge sat in the chair behind the desk.

"Now, Miss Potter-" Fudge was cut off by Zolsy shutting the door and standing by the door much like a bodyguard would. He cleared his throat and tugged at his collar nervously, before opening his mouth to continue.

"I called this meeting because I have been informed that you are now in possession of a Hungarian Horntail egg," Fudge rushed out, seemingly nervous. "And I'm afraid, my dear, that we just can't allow you to keep and take care of a dragon as you have no experience with Magical creatures."

Rose's eyebrows furrowed and she frowned lightly, "I-"

"You will find, Minister Fudge," Rockgut spoke up. "That Miss Potter has more experience with Magical Creatures than all of your staff in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. What I'm more interested in, Miss Potter; is how you have failed to report this new addition to your account manager at Gringott's."

Rose blushed lightly, trying to ignore Fudge's blustering about Rockgut's rather direct insult to the second largest department of the Ministry. "Well, I was told that I'd be getting paperwork from the Ministry and had yet to receive it until earlier today. Otherwise, I would have informed you sooner."

"Hnn," was Rockgut's only answer, as his eyes pierced through Rose.

"How can you say that Miss Potter has more experience with Magical Creatures than my staff in the DRCMC?!" Fudge finally managed to spit out the words he had been so desperately searching for.

"If you had checked _any_ of your paperwork before calling this farce of a meeting," Rockgut said sharply. "Then you would be aware that Miss Potter already owns and cares for an array of Magical Creatures! Up to, and including, a Nundu! So, you tell me, Mister Minister of Magic, if you really need to question her ability to care for a Dragon!"

Rose flushed at Rockgut's staunch defense of her honor and smiled slightly in thanks to him. Rockgut simply nodded, and Rose could tell that the thanks were unnecessary as he was very happy to be verbally assaulting the Minister.

"But she's just a child!" Fudge finally burst out after a moment of silence.

"She's the leader of House Potter and you shall respect her as such!" Rockgut slammed his toughened hands onto the desk in front of him, sending a miscellaneous glass object flying to the ground, only to be saved by Zolsy's magic. "She has been managing her family's estates for nearly three months and I would appreciate it, Mister Minister, that you at least allow me to write your stupidity down before spewing more!"

" _What?!"_ Fudge yelled, his face turning a mottled purple in his rage. "How dare you speak to me like that! I'll see to it that you're executed!"

"And I'll see to it that upon my execution Gringott's shuts its doors with everything inside it for good!" Rockgut snarled back.

"Gentlemen, please," Rose said nervously, seeing that another Goblin Rebellion (or uprising) was about to happen again. "I believe this meeting is supposed to be about me and my new Dragon. I'd appreciate if I wasn't away from the egg for too long, as I don't know when it will be hatching. What is it you need to know, and what do I need to sign to make it so I can care for the hatchling?"

The Wizard and Goblin didn't stop glaring at each other, but Fudge pushed some paperwork toward Rose, "Since you are, apparently, prepared to care for the Dragon I need you to sign and date these documents stating that you understand the responsibility you're taking on and that you will pay for any and all damage to people and property that happens because of your Dragon."

Rose nodded and read the documentation before signing it. It split into two and one copy was sent flying somewhere else in the Ministry while Rose kept one copy for herself. She then turned to Rockgut, awaiting his instructions.

"I simply need you to fill out this documentation once the egg has hatched so we can add this… new addition to your assets," he said as he handed Rose two pieces of parchment.

"Of course," Rose said with a nod before turning back to Fudge. "I assume I'll have to tell the Ministry if it's a boy or girl and what I'll be naming it, correct?"

"Correct, Miss Potter," Fudge said, trying to revert back to his cool-headed façade. "I'll also have to make an announcement that you are now head of House Potter."

"No, you don't have to," Rose said with a shake of her head. "I've been announcing it to my allies, and I don't believe I'd like it to reach my enemies. That being said, I'd also appreciate it if you made a vow that you will not tell anyone the information you learned today. It's not that I don't trust you it's just that…." Rose forced her eyes to fill with tears and her voice to shake so she could be properly dramatic. "I just c-couldn't handle it if s-something happened to Harry b-because of this! H-he already ha-has so much to w-worry about!"

Rose's fake tears were falling down her cheeks, and Rockgut had to hide his face from the Minister's view so he couldn't see the mirth on his face. The Minister, completely falling for her ploy, immediately started waving his hands around in a motion of surrender, "No, no, it's fine, dear girl! I, Cornelius Fudge, vow on my magic to not tell anyone of the happenings of this meeting! So mote it be!"

There was a small flash of light that emitted from Fudge's wand and he quickly stuffed it back into his pocket, watching anxiously as Rose sniffled dramatically and wiped the tears from her face, "Th-thank you so much, Minister…"

"Think nothing of it," Fudge said, his chest puffing out proudly.

"On that note, I believe it's about time that I return to Gringott's. Remember to send that paperwork to me immediately after the egg hatches, Miss Potter."

"Of course, Sir Rockgut," Rose said as the three stood up simultaneously. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience of having to meet with me."

"Think nothing of it," Rockgut and Fudge chorused, making them both glare at each other before Fudge turned away quickly, having heard an ominous sniffle from Rose. Fudge was the first one to exit the room, and Rockgut waited until he was gone before turning to Rose.

"I assume you have something else to discuss with me besides Dragon's, Miss Potter?"

"Yes," Rose said with a sigh. "I need you to tell the Department of Magical Law enforcement that through an anonymous tip you've received information stating that partial animagus transformations are possible, and would be beneficial to their unit."

"Why should I do that?" Rockgut crossed his arms.

"Because I'll pay you for your services. After all; time is gold."

"Right you are," Rockgut said with a nod. "But what exactly would we get paid?"

"I'll let you choose two goblin made artifacts from my vaults, and I'll give you a ten percent cut on the amount of gold you can weasel out of them."

Rockgut paused for a moment before his inlaid Goblin greed got the better of him. "Of course, Miss Potter. It's a pleasure doing business with you." He turned and strode out of the room without waiting for Rose to reply.

"Well, that works," Rose said with a grin as she held her hand out to Zolsy and was popped away again, back to the general area that Bumpy could be found.

"I thought I had paperwork to do?" Rose questioned.

"Mistress did paperwork with Minister and Goblin," Zolsy explained simply.

"Then where did you get that big stack from?!"

"Mistress's room. Mistress has much paperwork to do still, and Zolsy be's thinking that Mistress should be starting doing it."

"Why would you do that?!"

"Zolsy does what Zolsy does," Zolsy said with a shrug.

Rose sighed and shook her head, "Do you think you can get Rover to put some sort of pond near my egg cave? I think Bumpy is just feeling sleepy and wants me there to watch her."

"Of course, Mistress."

Zolsy popped away before Rose could say anything else and Rose shook her head before going on the hunt for Bumpy. It didn't take too long to find the tired Moon Salamander, as her tail was hanging into the pond, goading nearby fish to come towards it until they got close enough for her to slap them with her tail. The ruckus wasn't even all that noisy, but Rose could hear birds chittering angrily in the defense of their waterborne friends.

"Bumpy! Leave the fish alone!" Rose called to the Moon Salamander as she approached.

Bumpy, in response, hissed. Rose could tell she hadn't been sleeping lately, especially when Bumpy turned so her back was facing Rose and laid down on a pile of moss she had created.

"Bumpy, listen, I don't have to watch you for you to sleep. I can leave right now with a clear conscience and you won't be able to say a word to me!"

The hiss was louder this time, but Bumpy stood and started leading the way to where the egg's cave was. Rose shook her head and sighed quietly but followed behind her silently anyway.

* * *

"Can you just hatch already?" Fred said as he glared at the egg.

"Oi, be nice to him!" George scolded. "You know what Rose said. She said if you bully the egg the Dragon'll come out a bully."

"Yeah, and she also announced to the whole Gryffindor Common Room that we were going to be fathers!"

George winced at the reminder, "I know. I was there. We are technically going to be fathers, though, aren't we?"

"Well, I suppose," Fred mused before stilling his twin's hand, stopping him from putting more ingredients into the cauldron they had set up next to where the egg was sitting. "And we're actually going to be fathers one day; I hope."

"I'm not sure about that," George said. "I think Rose will say we're enough trouble for her right now."

"Well obviously we're not going to do it soon," Fred said as if insulted.

George opened his mouth to respond again but a new voice broke into their conversation, "You're not going to do what soon? I thought the point of creating that potion was to use it."

George and Fred wheeled around to stare at Rose, Fred succeeding more than George at their attempt to not look guilty, "We weren't talking about anything!"

Rose frowned as she looked at the twins, "I don't believe that nonsense for a moment, boys. I'd appreciate it if you didn't lie in front of the egg."

George nodded as Fred groaned, "This is ridiculous Rose! The egg won't care if we lie, or if we swear, or if we're mean! It's an egg!"

Rose looked affronted and George turned with a wicked grin to look at his twin, "Cor, Ron, when'd you get here?"

George and Rose broke into peals of laughter, Rose laughing so hard that she doubled over.

"Shut it," Fred muttered petulantly as he pushed his laughing twin's shoulder.

Once everyone calmed down the twins went back to their potion, and Rose set up some homework that she needed to do. Even though she wasn't in class she still had assignments to do and she wasn't going to let them sit undone. Mainly because Zolsy said it was unacceptable for Mistress Potter to leave work undone.

"So," Rose finally spoke up. "My schoolwide spy has informed me of some interesting news."

"Yeah?" Fred asked absentmindedly as he released three separate hairs into the potion he was working on. "What news?"

"Ahh, there appears to be preparations going on for a ball of sorts."

The twins had the foresight to look at least mildly chagrined before they both spoke up, "Go to the ball with us?"

"Oh! How sweet of the both of you! I'd love to go to the ball with you two!" Rose's smile was large and slightly menacing, but the boys just sighed with relief.

"We didn't ask sooner because of your egg," George said after a moment, somehow sensing Rose's next question.

"Yeah, we didn't know when she'd-"

"-or he-"

"-it'd," Fred said with a glare at his twin, "hatch and we didn't want to invite you and have you be unable to attend."

Rose's entire body seemed to heat up with joy at the statement and she felt for a moment that if she tried to she could breathe fire, "Oh, you two are so sweet!"

"I'll accept a hug as payment!" George said with a broad grin.

"No, no, too cheap," Fred said with a shake of his head. "I want a kiss at the least."

"A hug and a kiss?"

"A kiss and two hugs?"

"Two kisses and hug?"

"No, no, we can't just think about ourselves-"

"You're right. We should ask for the opportunity to-"

"Boys!" Rose yelped, blushing, as she cut off George. "I'll give you each a hug and a kiss but anything else given to you will not be payment for you two being sweet!"

"I'll go first! It was my suggestion!" George said excitedly as he stepped towards Rose, but they all stopped at clicking noise, although it was more of a chink then anything. Everyone was frozen listening to the sound before a noise sort of like crinkling wrapping paper filled the area and Rose gasped happily.

"Oh! Oh my god!" Rose quickly extinguished the fire surrounding the egg. "Oh, it's hatching!"

And true to her words, the egg had started to crack. Spiderweb fractures were starting to go through the egg, sharp cracks and rattling combining to make a rather unsettling cacophony of noises, but Rose was bouncing with excitement. The twins were standing back, though, knowing that Dragons had fire and this particular breed of Dragon wasn't the nicest in the world. Their only real thought though was that it was a good thing it wasn't a Ukrainian Ironbelly, they were notorious for being impossible to manage outside of abusive means.

Finally, with a large final crack there was a small Hungarian Horntail sitting half in, and half out of its properly demolished egg.

"Ooooh!" Rose cooed happily as she looked at the dragon, whose eyes were struggling to open as it used its front legs to push itself the rest of the way out of the egg. There weren't any horns protruding from its black scales yet but Rose knew that eventually, this Dragon would be fearsome.

"Well, what is it?" George called from their far off 'safe' position.

"I don't know, it'll have to open its wings," Rose replied, barely over a whisper as the Dragon started looking around. She quickly created a Bluebell flame surrounding its nest area and smiled as the Dragon started calming down. Finally, after a show of looking around and crushing the rest of the eggshell so it could never catch it again, the Dragon opened its wings wide and squeaked out its first attempt at a roar.

"It's a boy!" she called back to the twins as she looked at the designs on the underside of his wings, which were used to draw females to him.

"What's his name?" Fred asked as he moved closer.

"Well, Firefly wanted me to name him Emery."

"Are you going to?" George asked as he crouched down near where Rose was sitting.

"Of course. I'm not his mother, she is."

"Well, you better get that idea right out of your head," Fred said as he looped an arm around her waist after sitting down. "We're his parents now, which means you've no choice in being his mother."

"Shouldn't we feed him?" George wondered?

"Yes," Rose said with a nod before blushing, "It'll disgust you two, though."

"What do you feed a baby Dragon?"

"Well…. A bucket of brandy mixed with blood every hour?"

"You're joking!"

"No, actually, I'm not. It's about as close as I can get to what a mother Dragon would feed her hatchlings. In a week or so he should be more than big enough to be fed regular meat, though."

The twins groaned and sighed, "As long as we aren't preparing it or feeding him."

"No, you're not. Rover offered to because he doesn't want to just know tricks about plants, so he'll be helping me take care of Emery."

Hearing his name again, Emery lifted his head from where he was sniffing the fire and screeched, accidentally releasing a small ball of fire that shot over Fred, although narrowly missing him.

"This is going to be dangerous," Fred said with a frown.

"The good news is that as he grows he'll continuously shed so I'll be getting tons of Dragon scales. In fact, if you two help me take care of him I think I'll be willing to part with some of them."

The twins glanced at each other before grinning broadly, "Deal!"

Rose smiled brightly and nodded before Zolsy appeared with some paperwork that she gave to Rose.

"What's that?" Fred asked as he watched her lean forward and hurriedly fill out the forms.

"Oh, I need to inform the Ministry and the Goblins of the updated news about Emery. If he's not properly named I can't claim him, essentially," Rose paused and then started at Emery critically before continuing filling out the forms again. Slowly she worked through them and they all disappeared with flashes of light.

"That just seems… Like so much effort," George said with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to stick with non-magical pets for now," Fred said with a nod.

"Even if I gave you guys Kenelm the Animal Sentinel?"

"What is-"

"-who is-"

"- Kenelm the Animal Sentinel?"

Rose laughed and smiled at the twins, "He's a half-Crup. You know, those Wizard bred dogs that hate Muggles?"

The twins just nodded their heads mutely.

"Well he's not a full Crup, lots of paperwork and classes, you know? Have to prove you can handle them around Muggle's and what not, so I just have a half-Crup. He's half-Crup half Pit Bull. He's adorable, but he really needs to stop stealing people's shoes."

"Did he inherit the two tails?" George asked.

"Oh, no, he's just got the one. Thankfully I didn't have to do anything about that."

Fred and George looked over Rose's head and shared a glance, knowing that they would probably never get used to Rose, all of her animals, and how she got them all. They shrugged simultaneously, "Well, we'd take care of him for a summer if you wanted us to?"

"Not sure mom would be pleased about another mouth to feed, though," George noted.

"He's really good at taking care of Gnomes."

"Deal!" Fred and George instantly yelled.


	20. Chapter 20

_Dearest Padfoot,_

 _After much thought and consideration on my part, I have decided that instead of waiting for this news to hit the press (which it won't with you batting envelopes out of the air like a cat) I will be writing a personal remark about what has been going on in my life that casually mentions a dragon and its egg. I would appreciate it if you were to put your foot down and demand that they keep it word for word._

 _Although I have been properly grounded for omitting news of my surprising new dependent I request that I be ungrounded so I can go to Hogsmeade, get dress robes, and attend the Yule ball. If you say no, I'll just go anyway._

 _Also, your grand-dragon says hello. He's fairly well behaved, but we did have to get Madame Pomfrey to regrow George's right eyebrow. No burns yet, and we're hoping to keep it that way!_

 _With love,_

 _Your Goddaughter_

 _Rose Potter_

* * *

 _Dearest Moony,_

 _Enclosed are multiple Dragon Scale's that Emery, your Grandson, has shed. They're the best of the lot and we figured they might catch a pretty penny too. Put a ring on your mate for us, all right?_

 _With love,_

 _Cubette_

* * *

"It's going to be published today," George said as Rose brushed her hair.

"I know," Rose smiled.

"Sirius said he wanted Rita Skeeter to be fired, yeah?" Fred asked.

"Yes."

"And you're sure he could get it to happen?"

"Absolutely."

"D'ya think it happened already?"

"No."

"Cor, it'd be nice if it did, though."

"Wonder where she'd work after that?"

"No idea," Rose muttered noncommittally. Her hair was brushed and pretty but… She shook her head, no, she wasn't going to call a house elf for today. "Alright guys, let's get going."

"I can't believe you're _actually_ going to the Great Hall for this," Fred said with a shake of his head.

"I want to see their reaction. Besides, that potion we made will help a lot."

"You're sure we're not giving it to the professors?" George wondered as they climbed out of the trunk.

"Definitely," Rose nodded.

"Do I want to know?" Lee asked as he walked out with them.

"Nope," the triad chorused.

"All right then. 'Least I won't get in trouble."

"That's the spirit," Rose said with a grin.

"How's Eddie doing?" Lee asked as they walked out of the portrait hole.

"He's doing fine," George answered. "A bit distraught that his mom has a new kid, but he's adjusting fairly well. 'Least I think so."

"I think he's doing just fine. He and I talked about it," Rose said with a nod.

"You make no sense," Fred said with a shake of his head while Lee nodded rapidly in agreement.

"Yeah, well you love me anyway," Rose said with a radiant smile.

"Yeah," the twins said with uncharacteristically love-struck grins.

"Eww, you broke them!" Lee yelled.

"I should hope they're still in working order," Rose said with a small frown, although her eyes were twinkling playfully. "I have plans for them tonight."

"Yuck!" Lee yelled while the twins cheered excitedly.

Rose gave a look to the twin, letting them know she was lying to disgust Lee, and the grin they gave her back let her know that they did, in fact, know, but they still spanned to do _something_ that night.

They all walked into the Great Hall and settled into their seats. Once everyone was there and the feasting began Rose and the twins quickly downed their preferred drinks before looking around eagerly. Other's around the hall were drinking too, and only a few people were looking at the three in confusion or nervousness.

"So, Rose," Angelina Johnson said from her spot next to Lee. "How have you been? We haven't seen you in awhile. Were you sick?"

"No, I had some stuff to do," Rose said with a thoughtful look. "What all's been going on, though?"

"Oh!" Angelina got super excited and leaned forward, "There's going to be a _ball_."

"I know," Rose grinned happily, "Fred and George asked me already."

"Ahh," Angelina tried not to look too disappointed that her news wasn't new, and shook her head, "there's gonna be an opening dance for the Champions and their dates too!"

"Oh? Poor Harry." Her look turned predatory as she looked at her twin, thinking of the fool he would make of himself.

"But just imagine how good Cedric will look dancing," Angelina said with a sigh.

"No thanks," Fred and George muttered as Rose laughed.

"He'll look very good with Cho."

"I guess," Angelina rolled her eyes.

Suddenly screams rent the air of the great hall and Rose and the Twins immediately turned to the sound.

"My hair!" a Slytherin girl wailed, and Rose tried not to laugh too much at the girl whose hair had turned bright red.

In fact, most of the Slytherin's hair were red, although some were green, black, or gray.

"Woah," Rose looked around the hall in amazement at the color everyone's hair was around the great hall, even as chaos was reigning.

"Silence!" Dumbledore finally yelled.

Everyone quieted down and Rose tried not to make eye contact with Dumbledore.

"It is just a harmless prank, there is nothing to worry about," Dumbledore said.

"Nothing to worry about?!" Lavender Brown squawked. "My hair is yellow!"

"I'm sure these changes are temporary," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "And we are a _magic_ school, we could change hair colors back if need be."

As he spoke, many of the heads full of red hair changed colors. Most turned a purple color, and attention was drawn to this, "It seems that the colors change frequently anyway."

"But not everyone's has changed!" Padma Patil, who had off-white hair, said.

A sound like a cannon-blast went off (almost everyone's hair turned shock white) and confetti rained down from the ceiling as a banner appeared behind the great table with a flourish.

 _Fear not for your hair! Fear who you talk to, your hair now tells those smart enough to figure it out what your mood is!_

Dumbledore laughed gaily, although no one else thought it was funny; if the dark red hair of the great hall was anything to go by.

"This is excellent work! If whoever did it would step forward I could give them house points."

No one stepped forward. Dumbledore's eyes scanned the great hall but only the professors were unaffected, so he had no idea who did it. Technically, he had an inkling that told him the Weasley twins had something to do with it, but he had no proof.

"Very well. I would just recommend everyone try to stay as calm as possible. Classes are still on," this announcement was met with groans, and hair turning gray, "Perhaps we'll be lucky enough to get a couple of relationships out of this ordeal!"

Many girls hair turned pink at that comment, and a few boys did too. Rose, Fred, and George's turned Bright blue and they glanced at each other, knowing that this all would be a fun day. Finally, though, the post arrived, which is what Fred, George, and Rose had been waiting for.

They eagerly looked around as the people who got the post and marked down what colors their hair turned.

 **Girl-Who-Lives Writes a Letter to The Public!**

 _ **By Otto Xunitor**_

Rose Potter, The-Girl-Who-Lived, twin sister of Harry Potter (current Champion of the Triwizard Tournament) has a few words to share with us all about her experiences in school this year, and what interesting words they are! We hope that by sharing her thoughts with our readers we can shed some light onto the Triwizard Tournament and its champions, along with on Rose herself! These are the words Miss Potter wrote:

 _Hello, Daily Prophet readers! I'm Rose Potter, a Fourth Year student at Hogwarts, and I wanted to tell you all that's going on here at the moment._

 _The Triwizard Tournament is happening, and boy what an exciting event it has been so far! The Goblet of Fire chose it's three champions; Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons, and Cedric Diggory from Hogwarts! First, I'd like to congratulate the three real champions. You all are doing so well, and were so brave to volunteer for this! Congratulations to you!_

 _Now I'd like to talk about the Fourth Champion. The Champion that shouldn't_ _ **be**_ _a champion. My twin brother, Harry Potter. He, like me, is a Fourth Year. Unlike me, he's never been top of his classes. There was an out-roar at Hogwarts after his name was drawn, but for none of the right reasons. Everyone assumed that Harry put his name into the Goblet, or coerced someone else to do it. However, I know that's wrong; and he would testify under Veritaserum that that is wrong. This is important because he, an underage, underprepared student, is still being forced to compete in a tournament that could very well mean his death if he doesn't know the correct spells._

 _The Tournament's history is already full of casualties, and I just don't want my brother to be the next one… In fact, he had to face Dragon's in the first task, and he could have very well died if the Dragon hadn't taken some strange form of pity on him for being young. She stuck him in her nest for a short period, though, and he could have suffocated with her lording over it._

 _In fact, after the task, I went to the Dragon Tamer's area and I thanked the Hungarian Horntail for not killing my brother. She seemed rather irritated and she huffed at me for a while, growling and the likes and then she stopped and gave me one of her eggs. I tried to give it back (in fact, you can ask the Romanian Dragon Preserve and they would tell you this is the truth) but she was taken away before I could force it back into her nest._

 _The Dragon Tamers were unable to take the Egg back to its mother, and I have been taking care of it since then. In fact, I recently had paperwork signed that meant I could keep the Dragon. His name is Emery, he's a Hungarian Horntail, and he's never hurt anyone. I'll be bringing him into public on occasion but don't worry, he'll behave as long as I am there!_

 _All in all, I just hope that my twin can leave this competition and leave the money and the glory to the real champions. Perhaps with the added support of the wizarding populace, my hope can become reality._

"Those Slytherin's know Occlumency," Rose muttered under her breath as she kept writing names down of people who were showing poor reactions to her news.

"Yeah, why else would their hair be gray?"

Rose frowned and bit on the end of her quill, ignoring the whispering and the occasional glares she was getting from everyone. "Yes, I think that's the list. Name's'll change but this is the best we've got, yeah? First impressions and all."

"You're right," Fred and George nodded. "Let's get you back to Emery. Then on our break, we can watch him and you can go do whatever you want."

"Good," Rose sighed. "I've been feeling vaguely trapped."

"Not for much longer, I hope," George said as he looped an arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, we can't have you trapped," Fred put his arm around her waist. "You're too cute to be in a cage."

Rose snorted quietly and continued on her way to Gryffindor Tower, "Yes, I'm sure that's the only reason we don't want me to be trapped."

* * *

Rose yawned as she was whisked into Ravenclaw's study. She had a very specific need, and she figured that this would be the place to get it.

"Good day, Rose," Rowena spoke from her portrait.

"Hnn," Rose grunted quietly, heading straight for a chair and flopping into it.

"Are you okay?"

Rose wasn't going to answer, she just needed to sleep. Being a mother was exhausting!

"Rose?" a new voice asked.

"Mother of Merlin I just want sleep!" Rose groaned as she cracked an eyelid open.

"Sorry," Roma said with a small grimace. "I was just in here studying and I just… did what you write in the British news – I mean – was it… That is, was it true?"

Rose groaned internally but sat up fully with an inner strength she was unaware she had. She covered her mouth as she yawned and looked fully at Roma. He looked nervous, and a little embarrassed, but he didn't look judgmental. That was a start at the very least.

"Which part?" she finally asked.

"The Horntail gave you an egg?"

Rose nodded, "Yes. It hatched not too long ago to be completely honest. Maybe a week? I've lost track of time with watching him. His name's Emery. Why?"

"Oh, it's just very rare that a Dragon gives up its egg," Emery fidgeted with the quill in his hand for a moment, obviously debating something, before speaking up again. "The Dragon – Emery – is… is everything all right with him? I mean… Like… Is he physically okay?"

Rose stiffened, insulted, before she realized why he was asking. For a dragon to give up an egg the egg would have been harmed in some irredeemable way. However, what Roma didn't know was that the egg was specifically meant to grow up to protect Rose. "No, he's perfectly fine. Perhaps a bit vain, but definitely fine."

Roma sighed, almost like he was relieved, before nodding his head quickly, "That's very good. Very, very good."

Rose nodded in agreement, before yawning. "Any other questions?"

"No, I think that's it. Oh! What do I do if someone else comes in here?"

"Keep them quiet," Rose answered.

"Is she taking a nap?" Rowena asked. "I can't understand Romanian."

"Yes, I am," Rose said to the painting before curling up. "Good night, Roma. Good night, Rowena."

"Good night," the other two whispered as Rose drifted to sleep.

As she slept Roma kept glancing at her and biting his lower lip. Rowena noticed and after she thought Rose was in a deep enough sleep (if the content sigh was anything to go by) she spoke up.

"Are you attracted to her?"

Roma startled a bit, fumbling with an inkwell that slipped, catching it just before it could spill and break on the floor, "Attrrracted? To her? Niet! She has tvo boyfrrriends!"

"That has nothing to do with attraction," Rowena said with a smirk.

"Da, zis I know. But I have niet attrrraction to her unless you mean like frrriend."

Rowena hummed thoughtfully, "Then why do you keep glancing at her?"

Roma's face flushed and he looked down, "She looks differrrent when she's asleep, don't you zink? Peaceful, not zinking. It... Innocent."

Rowena stood in her portrait and strained her neck trying to get a better look at the sleeping Rose. From her position, she could only see a mass of long red hair that was covering a sleeping form, and she could see a small rosy print on one cheek. "I can't tell. Could you, perhaps, spin the chair for me so I can see?"

Roma nodded and flicked his wand, levitating the chair just enough that he could turn it so Rowena could see the sleeping girl.

Rowena studied Rose's face and sighed slightly, "Oh, yes, she does look innocent. Although, perhaps a little cold. Could you conjure a blanket for her?"

Roma frowned, "I don't know how to do zat."

Rowena smiled, a genuine smile, and tilted her head questioningly, "Are you not in a room with a trained Professor?"

Roma laughed, a rather throaty sound, and moved Rose's chair back before practicing the spell with Rowena. She gave him tips on how to make prettier things, or change colors, thickness, material, anything he may need in the future, and eventually they settled on a purple downy blanket. After that Roma got back to work on his school work and the Mystery that was the Golden egg.

As time passed Rose would occasionally make animalistic noises in her sleep and she tossed and turned occasionally. Roma didn't pay too much mind to it, after all, she was raising a dragon; who knew what weird things that did to a person? Rowena was, however, interested when she noticed that Rose's nails were fluctuating in color every so often. Being a well-trained witch she easily noticed the signs of a powerful animagi, but she kept her mouth shut, knowing Rose to be a secretive girl.

Roma wasn't quite sure how late, or early, it was, but a house elf, Zolsy, if he remembered the name right, popped into the room with a steaming cup of some sort of tea in her hands.

"Mistress Rose, it is time to get up," the elf said, thrusting the cup under Rose's nose.

Rose groaned quietly but her eyes peeled themselves open. She sat up and blinked blearily before taking the cup from the elf. "Zolsy, please get some Pretzels for Roma to snack on. And get Vandy for me. I'm tangled in my hair and I need help."

"Yes, Mistress," the elf bowed her head and popped away.

"You rrremember zat I like Prrretzels?" Roma asked, rather touched.

"Mmm," Rose's answer was noncommittal, but she was sipping on her tea with a rather blissful expression besides the fact her own hair had practically pinned her arms to her side.

A pop was heard and a cloud of blue smoke appeared before an old elf with gray patches of hair covering his head and his rather small purple eyes stepped out of it. He, unlike most other House-elves, had fashioned his clothes to mimic human fashion, and he looked rather fancy in what appeared to be a pant-suit.

"Mistress Rose," the elf clucked his tongue as he looked her over. "A mess. Such a mess indeed."

"I'm sorry, Vandy, but I honestly just needed to sleep," Rose was rather nervous in the elf's presence, and rightly so. The elf was at least two-hundred years old, and he had helped generations of Potter women look amazing for society.

"You should be sleeping at night!" the elf snapped at her. "A woman needs-"

His rant was cut very short (thank Merlin) by Zolsy popping inside and offering a bowl of what appeared to be homemade pretzels to Roma, "Mister Roma, here are your pretzels."

"Uhhh... Zank you," Roma said as he watched the stare down between Rose and Vandy.

"Your house elves are very unique, Rose," Rowena spoke up.

"Thank you," the two elves said with puffed up chests.

"We was raised from young and told that we were not less," Zolsy explained.

"Your Masters were very good then," Rowena noted.

Zolsy and Vandy nodded with teary eyes before Vandy sighed, "Which means I need to be a good elf for newest Mistress who _doesn't know how to take care of her hair_."

"I do too! I just was so tired!"

Vandy hissed at Rose and she shut up as the elf started using his magic to untangle her and braid her hair so she couldn't mess it up anymore. Rose smiled gratefully at the elf and as she opened her mouth to thank him he disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

Rose coughed and shook her head, "So dramatic," she muttered.

"For good reason," Zolsy said with a stern glare. "Mistress is messing up sleep schedule, and messing up hair. Vandy's job is to make Mistress presentable, and he cannot do badly at the job. He gets breaks when you're at school or when you don't _call_ him," here she sent a filthy glare at Rose for not calling Vandy to help with her appearance for the Minister, "but it is still his _job_."

"I know, I know. I'm doing my best. I'm used to doing it all by myself."

"Get over it," Zolsy said with a huff before she disappeared with a pop.

Rose sighed and shook her head, turning to look at Roma who was happily gnawing on a pretzel, "They're so well taken care of."

Roma paused in his gnawing, and lowered the pretzel to speak, "Most vould kall zat spoiled."

Rose looked insulted and held a hand to her chest, "No!"

Roma shook his head and muttered to himself, "Better not trrreat Drrragon like zat. Vill be menace when grrrows up."

Rose hissed at him, and Roma ducked his head to hide from her angry eyes.

* * *

"I need to go for a run," Fred said. "I can't do this whole stagnant thing. It's bullshit."

"Watch your language in front of Emery," Rose said without looking up from her book.

Fred groaned and banged his head on the stone wall of the cave before doing his best not to swear at the pain of that particular action. "He has a good point, Rose. We need to move at some point. And Emery needs to move too. He can't stay in a cave forever."

"He's not made to run. He's made to fly."

"So? He can learn to run with us. You've seen the guy at food time, he can run with the best of them."

Rose sighed and closed her book, drawing Emery's attention away from his newest 'shiny thing' that Rover had taken to hiding in the cave for the dragon to collect.

"Fine. But only in our animagus forms."

"Deal!" Fred and George yelled.

Rose turned to Emery who tilted his head questioningly at her, causing her to smile, "We're going to go for a run, Emery. Would you like to come too? I know it's not flying but… It's the best we can personally do for you unless you fly above us and stay in our sight."

"I like flying," Emery noted in a childish, but gruff voice. "But I fly too fast for you three."

"We'll be animals when we run," Rose promised. "But remember the rule? No hunting in the trunk."

"No hunting in the trunk," Emery said with a dramatic sigh. "I know Mother."

Rose winced slightly at the name. She had told the dragon over and over that she wasn't his real mother, his real mother was a dragon like him named Firefly who gave him to her. He said he knew. He remembered her talking to them all when he was an egg, he remembered volunteering to watch Rose, he remembered it all. Rose just had to accept his term of endearment.

"Well? What'd the kid decide?" Fred asked as he walked over, stretching.

"He'll fly above us, and he won't hunt."

"All right, so not going the forest route. Got it. Hear that Georgie? We're going for a run!"

"I'm so ready!" George hollered excitedly.

Rose rolled her eyes and turned into her animagus form before nuzzling up against Emery so he knew who she was. The dragon huffed into her fur before moving over to Fred and George who both had turned into their animagus forms. He sniffed them and huffed their fur before the family set off, charging through the mountains at breakneck speed to work off their excess energy. With their mind link, the three animagi could keep in contact with each other at all times, and it made it easier to keep track of Emery with six eyes instead of two.

Rose kept getting distracted, though, as she saw her front legs as she ran. She kept seeing flashes of marks on them and slowed down to check on them but inevitably would just have to run faster to catch up. She thought she saw marks on the twins too but knew it was impossible. There was no way that their bond marks would show up on their animagus forms!

Rose, although she participated in the run, only felt antsier after it was done. Unlike the twins, she did not turn back into herself and she laid down to stare pointedly at her front legs. There were no marks. When she thought the words 'pack' 'mates' or'family', however, her bond marks appeared. She shifted back to herself and kept quiet, unsure of what mentioning it would do.

After all, hadn't she killed a man with those words running through her mind?

* * *

"What do you _mean_ it's my choice?"

"Exactly what I said," Dumbledore responded to Rose's outburst with a grin. "It is, quite simply, up to you. You could, if you so pleased, go back to your classes; or you could continue on as you are now, take care of your dragon-"

"Emery," Rose automatically corrected.

"-Emery," Dumbledore said with a grin and twinkling eyes as if he had planned to say it the whole time, "and do your homework while doing so."

"But… You're the headmaster! You should be telling me what to do!"

"I find it best when dealing with mothers to let them decide what is best for them and their child."

' _Is that what you did for my mom?'_ Rose sighed at the thought and bit her lower lip. Dumbledore seemed to take this as a motion of defeat.

"So, I will see you back in classes when you are quite ready. I hope you and the Weasley twins don't get into _too_ much trouble in that Trunk of yours."

"I only have room for animals and clothes," Rose automatically defended.

"Have a good day, Miss Potter."

Rose sulked as she walked down the stairs to where the twins were waiting for her.

"He told you to go back to classes?" George asked, noticing her sulking posture.

"No, he told me to stay out of them," Rose sighed.

"Then why are you upset? Sounds like a good thing to me!" Fred said as he looped his arm through hers as the twins started leading her down to Hogsmeade.

"Well, because," Rose said with a frown. "Shouldn't he be worried about me failing classes? And isn't this preferential treatment?"

"Nah," George said with a shake of his head, "the , year before you lot got here there was a Claw that got it up the duff and she did all the stuff you're doing now."

Rose raised an eyebrow at George, "Up the duff? Really? You couldn't say she got pregnant?"

George shrugged, "I said what I meant."

"That's obnoxious," Rose said with a shake of her head.

"Agreed," Fred said with a nod, pulling her closer. "So, let's ditch this tosser and just go you and me."

"Not happening!" George said with a scowl as he pulled Rose back towards him. "I mean, I'm the more attractive twin!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

As they argued they both kept pulling Rose away from the other and Rose just smiled at McGonagall when she huffed at their bad behavior, the twins still bickering and ignoring her.

"Watch those two in the village, please, Miss Potter."

"Of course," Rose said with a nod before pausing, "If I control him would Emery be allowed in the village? I want to socialize him."

"Emery?" the twins asked, stopping their 'fight' instantly.

"Yes, Emery," Rose turned back to McGonagall. "He's my dragon. I got a collar from the ministry that apparently means he's my familiar or something like that."

"Of course, Miss Potter. Just remember you pay for any damages."

"Of course. Thank you!" Rose said with a grin as she walked off the path closer to the Forbidden Forest.

"We're taking Emery out?" George asked excitedly.

"Yes," Rose said with a broad grin.

"Oh, we'll terrorize some people," Fred rubbed his gloved hands eagerly.

"I'm sure," Rose said with a nod. "Zolsy!"

Zolsy popped into existence in front of her, looking rather frazzled, her voice squeaked more than usual when she spoke, "Mistress be wanting her Dragon? Please be saying yes!"

"Yes, I'd like Emery."

"Oh, you're a gracious Mistress!" Zolsy wailed before popping out of existence and popping back up in front of them with Emery, who had smoke rolling out of his nostrils in waves. As soon as Zolsy's hand was off the obviously irritated dragon the elf disappeared again.

Although he had been able to fit comfortably in one of her arms after he hatched, Emery now would have none of that. He was the size of a Labrador Retriever and his spikes and horns were growing in nicely. He preened in the pond that Bumpy now stayed in every morning and pulled off any loose scales with much disdain. His black scales shone off a dark red sheen in the winter light, and he spread his wings to beat the snow away from his surrounding area. As he did so his Ministry given collar became more obvious. It was a padded leather Collar that only had to be worn in front of outsiders, but Emery had come to appreciate it much like a necklace.

"Emery," Rose said sternly. "The snow didn't do anything to you. Be nice to it."

Emery let the smoke billow out of his nostrils faster and 'roared' at Rose in a fit of anger.

"Emery!" George said, pointing his finger at the dragon, "You listen to your mother young man!"

"We'll be having none of this misbehaving!" Fred said with his arms crossed. "We're going to take you into _public_ today and if you can't behave-"

"- you won't be going," Rose finished.

The dragon who had immediately hunkered down when George started speaking sternly to him practically cowered when Fred did it too. The twins had learned quickly that the Dragon understood human speech very well, and they started using it to their advantage. They immediately told him that his 'mother' was to be listened too at all times and that although it was okay to play his one goal was to make sure she was always safe.

Emery, who had just watched a dual between his parents, didn't think much of that statement. He thought Rose could protect herself perfectly well thank-you-very-much! For the most part at least. Occasionally she wasn't as strong as she liked people to think she was. However, he knew that while the twins were fun to play with, his mother was the one who took control of everything and that listening to her would be in his best interest.

"I'm sorry, Mother," Emery muttered under his breath, although Rose knew that the twins couldn't understand him.

"Apology accepted, young-one," Rose squatted in front of him and adjusted his collar slightly, making it so a shiny pin that said _Emery, Rose Potter's_ was easily read. "You just stay by me today and all will be okay. Even if your dad's try to tell you that they'll take you just stick by me."

Emery nodded his head and quickly rested it on her shoulder in a form of a hug before moving back and letting her stand again.

"All right, everyone! Let's go to Hogsmeade!"


	21. Chapter 21

" _It's a dragon!"_

" _Claire, grab the kids! We're moving!"_

" _It's so cute!"_

With each terrified – or excited – scream, Emery got more agitated. His newly spiked tail was swishing back and forth from agitation and he was practically glued to Rose's leg. Smoke blew out of his nose near constantly and the sulfuric smell burned at Rose's nose and made her eyes water a bit.

"Perhaps this wasn't a good idea," Fred said as he dodged Emery's tail as it viciously swiped at him.

"It was too. It's better to get him used to it now than when he's full grown and blowing fire."

"I could blow fire now."

"He could blow fire now," George said, unknowing that he said the same thing as Emery.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You know what? This is aggravating."

"What is?" all three chorused.

"Follow me."

She pulled them over to the side, thankfully away from anyone and held Fred and George's hands. "Emery, please start talking."

"Blah, Blah blah. Saying words like a stupid human."

"Emery," Rose said with a glare.

"Sorry, Mother."

As Emery was talking to them Rose opened her mind slowly, like a flower blooming (she thought that was funny, considering her name) and waited. She knew the twins would just have to reach –

"- and I think his hair looks like worms."

"Lee's hair does not look like worms!" Fred and George immediately said.

"Although could you imagine turning his dreadlocks _into_ worms?" Fred asked with a wicked grin.

"Or Snakes?"

They both paused before shaking their heads, "Worms."

"Wait, who said that?" George asked.

"I did," Emery said with a huff of irritation, releasing a short burst of smoke.

"Emery did?" Fred asked.

"He did," Rose said with a grin.

"Emery?"

"Yes?" Emery asked.

"You can talk?" Fred asked.

"Yes."

"Rose wasn't just going crazy?" George asked.

"Hey!" both Rose and Emery yelled as Fred and George held their hands up in defense.

"Does this mean we can understand all animals?" the twins asked.

"If I can hear them, probably," Rose muttered under her breath. "I don't know if I can understand non-magical creatures though. I've never tried to."

"Huh," Fred paused and looked at George.

"Yeah," George said after a second.

"Wicked!" they both said.

Rose rolled her eyes and looked down at Emery, "Now they can understand you too."

"I knew that. I CAN hear, you know?"

Rose rolled her eyes and smiled before kneeling in front of him, "So, do you think you've dealt with enough people today?"

"No! I refuse to go back home with Zolsy!" Emery banged his tail on the ground, accidentally – on purpose? – gouging a hole into the ground.

"I don't know why you two don't get along," Rose said with a sigh.

"She touches my shiny's," Emery growled and Fred and George's eyes bugged out of their heads comically.

"Wait- she's literally messing with a dragon's hoard?!"

Rose rolled her eyes, "She thinks she's immortal, I swear." She turned back to Emery and smiled at him, scratching under his chin gently. "Don't worry baby, she won't steal your shiny's she just wants to make them prettier for you."

"I know what is pretty, thank you very much!" Emery said as he pulled himself up to his full height as if insulted.

"We know, Emery-" Fred started to say.

"- Just look at your scales!" George finished.

"They are very pretty," Emery said, appeased for a moment.

"Want to help me pick out a pretty dress to wear to a dance?" Rose asked with a smile at the Dragon.

"Human wardrobe means nothing to me," Emery said pretentiously although his eyes glittered with interest.

"Liar," both Fred and George muttered.

" _Boys!"_ Rose hissed as she punched each of their arms.

"Owwww!"

"Come on Emery, let's pick out a pretty dress for me."

"We're coming too!" Fred immediately said.

"No, we're not!" George snapped back. "That's _shopping_ and she's a _girl_."

Fred's eyes got wide, "By George, you're right George!"

Rose groaned, "Go to Zonkos and Honeyduke's. I'll kindly forget the fact that you apparently didn't realize I am a girl."

Before either of the twins could respond she walked off to the dress store and was unsurprised to find that it was hectic. However, with an irritated dragon on her side, the shop cleared out until she was one of the few who was bothering to stay in it.

"Listen, Mother, that color looks horrible on you!" Emery said with a groan as he laid his head on his front legs, closing his eyes in shame.

Rose looked down at the swishy burgundy dress she was wearing. "It does?"

"It does," Emery said with a dramatic sigh.

"Well, if you're so smart, you give me a color to wear!"

Emery stood up, "Finally!"

"Umm, ma'am?" the store-owner, who was really being very accepting, said warily. "Where is your dragon going?"

"Emery is helping me find an appropriate color to wear apparently," Rose said with a huff.

"Oh, _good_! I really don't think that's your color."

Rose groaned and followed her dragon into the racks of dresses.

"This one!" Emery said suddenly.

Rose raised an eyebrow, "You want me to wear _pink_?"

Emery gave her the best glare he could, "Go try it on. I'll find another one just in case."

Rose sighed and went to try on the pink dress. It was a tight-bodiced dress that clung to her until just above her hips before flaring out a bit. She had to admit the color looked fine on her, but the style…

"Emery, I need a different one!" Rose said with a sigh as she god out of the room. "This doesn't look good on me. I like the color though."

"Tell the other human to grab this one!"

"Ma'am," Rose turned to the shop owner, "would you mind grabbing the next dress from my Dragon?"

"Of course," she nodded her head and left to Emery before returning with another pink dress for her to try on.

Rose quickly switched dressed and smirked as she looked into the mirror. "Emery, you can stop looking!"

"Who says I was still looking?" Emery's voice said in annoyance from right outside the door. She stepped out and Emery's eyes glittered proudly like they normally did when he looked at his 'horde.' "I like it."

"Oh, that looks amazing on you!" the shop owner said.

"I think I'll be getting it, actually."

"Of course, but let me make one adjustment really quick…" the woman waved her wand quickly before nodding and smiling. "Get changed and we'll ring you up!"

Rose smiled, and went and got changed quickly. She brushed her fingers against the material of the dress and resisted the urge to sigh happily. Once changed she paid for it and asked to have it delivered the day of the dance, knowing that otherwise, the twins would see it. She mentally reached out to the twins as she stepped away from the shop.

" _I think I'm going to stop by Night Stop. You guys ready, or are you going to do something else?"_

George was the one who replied, _"We'll be doing something else. If you need us, contact us."_

Rose gave a mental nod and looked down at Emery as she walked, "We're going to place with a lot of people, some of which are dangerous. You'll have to be on your best behavior."

"Of course, when am I doing anything less?" Emery said.

Rose rolled her eyes and stepped into the stop, ignoring the shocked glances she was getting because she had the vial of blood and tooth on full display. No one particularly cared about Emery, but Emery cared about them.

"They all smell horrible. This is terrible. Why am I here? Can't we go somewhere else?" Emery was whining and puffing smoke out of his nostrils.

"Calm down, Emery. We shouldn't be here too long," Rose muttered as they walked farther into the store.

"Rose!" Cian called from where he was sitting on the counter. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I'm getting Emery used to people," Rose said with a grin.

"So sweet; you think we're people!" Cian jumped down from the counter and walked up to Rose, hugging her for a moment.

However, Emery's growl made him stop and back away, kneeling in front of the dragon.

"Hello, Sir Emery. I am Cian, the leader of the Vampires. It's nice to meet you," Cian held his hand out to the young dragon before Rose could say not to.

 _Crunch!_

"Emery!" Rose yelled. "Let go of him this instant!" Rose fell to her knees and tried to pry Emery's jaws off of Cian's hand.

Cian, although tears of pain were pooling in his eyes, did not make a sound, he just watched as Rose struggled to pull the dragon off of him.

"This is unacceptable! Release!" Rose flicked Emery between his eyes and the shock made him release Cian's hand. "Oh my Merlin, Cian, I'm so sorry! I should've told you not to hold your hand out to him!"

"He tried to touch me so I bit him!" Emery said. "You should've let me keep his hand!"

Rose ignored him and stared in mild terror at the mess that was Cian's hand, "Oh Merlin, you must have broken bones, and not to mention their bite is venomous…"

"I can get better," Cian said with a sigh. "I'm not sure those twins of yours would like me to though."

Rose paused and threw her mental signal to the twins to come at once. She could feel them rushing towards her from Zonko's but it would take a moment. "What do you mean…?"

"He is a vampire," a man, probably another vampire, said from the side, finally clueing Rose into the fact that Cian, Emery, and she had all been surrounded. "It should be obvious what he has to do to get better."

Rose paused before her eyes lit up in understanding, "But there's blood all over in here!"

"Well, yes," Cian threw a dirty glare at the vampire who sulked back a bit. "But I would need _fresh_ blood in order to get rid of this mess." He waved his hand slightly and Rose could _feel_ the grinding of bones where they weren't supposed to be.

The doors of the shop were pushed open and Fred and George rushed in, ignoring the hisses and growls from the other 'people' in the shop.

"We came as fast as we could-" Fred said.

"- It took us longer than we wanted –" George continued.

"- Didn't want to draw attention –"

"- To ourselves. But what's the-"

"Merlin! Is that Emery's fault?"

"Emery! How could you?!" Fred and George finished together.

Rose tried not to smile as the twins descended upon the Dragon, who was cowering, knowing that his father's yelling meant he had really done something wrong.

"Both of you stop it," Rose said finally. "I have an important question. Cian needs fresh blood to fix his hand. Would you mind if…?"

"I'll do it!" they both said before glaring at the other.

"I'd prefer it be me," Rose said with a blush. "He knows me better, and he'd take as little as possible whereas for you two…"

Fred growled. George frowned. Emery cowered. Fred and George made eye contact and had a silent conversation, one Rose couldn't overhear, before sighing and sitting on the floor with Rose, holding onto one of her hands each.

"Fine. As little as possible," they finally said.

Cian sighed in relief, Rose noticed that he was more pale than usual, and he bent toward her now exposed neck, "Keep the Dragon away, please," he muttered to the twins before Rose felt the strangest sensation.

Sharp pain at first, sure, but then it felt almost like she was a straw. She could feel the blood leaving her, and as a female that wasn't such a bizarre sensation, but more so she could feel it being _sucked_ out. The sharp pain only intensified, but her mind frantically tried to focus on something else. Her neck was throbbing, and her brain felt as if it were spinning rapidly inside of her skull. Her wrists were burning.

Her wrists?!

Cian stopped as suddenly as he had started and Rose gasped quietly, flopping slightly onto one of the twins. Her wrists were burning, perhaps more than her neck was. Her world was spinning, she didn't know what was going on and-

There were two flashes of light, one light yellow, and one orange-red and suddenly Rose's mind was clear again. She was breathing slightly heavily, mainly from the experience she just had, but Fred and George were looking at Rose's wrists in shock.

The bond marks were on full display, and the 'cords' that connected to the golden tree of life were glowing and appeared to be writhing slightly. Rose watched as the cords grew and shrunk in size and she could feel more energy coursing through her until she felt completely normal again.

"Ahh, so you _are_ bonded," a rough voice from the back of the shop said.

Rose looked up to see Delco and frowned slightly, "Were you here the whole time?"

"Nah, got here through floo just in time to see your fancy light show."

Rose rolled her eyes at him before pausing and turning to the twins, who were slightly pale from the show, and grinned at them, "When they said I'd have to pay for damages I didn't think they meant in blood."

Cian snorted, George rolled his eyes, and Fred sighed, "In all blood-related humor you go _there_?"

"I could say I'm not used to losing blood that way?"

"Okay!" Delco said loudly. "That's quite enough!"

Rose paused, "At least I didn't give one-hundred percent?"

Both Fred and George groaned and Emery tilted his head, slightly menacingly, and slightly fearfully towards Delco. Rose watched in interest, but Delco just ignored the Dragon and pulled Cian up.

"Couldn't have waited for me to get here to cause issues?" Delco asked.

"Of course not, where would the fun be in that?" Cian sent a sharp glance around the room and spoke loudly and clearly, "No one mentions this to Cordelia!"

A ripple of power ran through the room and all Vampire's present bowed their heads. There were mumbles of 'of course your Highness' and 'anything you say sire' and Rose was amazed by their reaction to their king. She'd never seen it first hand.

"Anyone who mentions this to Cordelia will get some sort of reward," Delco said with a grin.

There were snorts that filled the room and mumbles of 'yeah right.' Even Rose rolled her eyes as the twins helped her stand up.

"Are you okay…?" She heard Emery ask nervously.

"I am," she said as she looked down at him. "If you do anything like this again, though, I wouldn't expect me to be."

Fred and George sighed but didn't say anything to comfort the distressed dragon.

"You can talk to them?" Delco wondered out loud as he lead Cian and the others toward the back.

"Yeah. It's come in real handy, considering he doesn't exactly speak English," Rose said with a nod.

"And what about those two?" Cian asked with a nod at the twins.

Rose tapped the side of her head and shrugged, "Well, you know, sometimes those with rare abilities find each other."

Cian and Delco snorted having caught her secret answer. Delco suddenly frowned though, "And Meghan? How is she doing?"

Rose blushed, honestly having forgotten to keep in touch with the younger girl, "I… I don't know, to be honest. I think she's fine but…"

"She's been locked up with her animals for a while-" George said with a shrug.

"-Raising a dragon and all –"

" - But we happen to know –"

"-That Meghan Paternus –"

"-Is doing fine."

Delco nodded his head, "Thank you for looking out for her."

"No problem," George said with a shrug.

"It's rare for Rose to take interest in a firstie, so we figured checking up on her was a good idea," Fred said with a nod.

Delco and the twins started talking about Meghan and Emery started exploring the store a bit, the inhabitants leaving him alone for the most part. Cian and Rose looked at each other for a moment, Cian frowning and Rose trying to be reassuring.

"I'm fine," she muttered to him.

He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, checking on her neck. "You've got two scars…"

Rose raised a hand to her neck and gently touched the bite-site. "Well… We can't expect miracles, now can we?"

Cian's brown eyes were twinkling with concern, "That was… I honestly don't know how to thank you, Rose."

Rose blushed and shrugged, glancing at the twins who didn't even notice her conversation was going on. "Well, you wouldn't have even gotten into that situation if not for me."

"But you have no idea-"

"What giving blood to a Vampire means?" Rose's eyes flashed around the room. "Give me more credit than that."

Cian smiled slightly, his fingertips brushing against her newest scars. "It'll be hard not to now."

They were quiet for a moment before Cian smiled at her, pulling himself away to a more reasonable distance. "I've been watching you since you were young, Rose Potter. This changes nothing."

Rose smiled slightly, "Thank you, your Highness." She bowed her head slightly and they both smirked at the formality.

"And you're sure you don't need anything today?" Cian asked.

"No, I think making you lose the ability to joke about finally sinking your fangs into me was more than enough."

"I can just start joking about sinking my fangs into you again," Cian pointed out with a wink.

Rose lightly punched his arm and smirked. "Don't be stupid, Fred might kill you."

"What about me?" Fred asked, turning his head towards them.

"Nothing bad," Cian and Rose chorused with a grin at each other.

* * *

Rose sighed from her spot between the twins, "Are you-"

"Rose," Fred Groaned as he pulled her closer.

"He's _fine_ ," George assured as he kissed her shoulder.

This was the first time that Rose had slept without Emery near her since his birth. She wasn't sure that this was a good idea. The twins said it was a great idea, but with every passing moment, her panic was mounting higher.

"But I don't-"

"So, you know that egg Harry needs to solve?" Fred asked.

"Yes?" Rose tilted her head to look at him.

"Well, have you heard it?"

Rose tilted her head in confusion, "No?"

George leaned up onto his arm and looked at Fred with confusion too, "Why would we want her to hear it anyway?"

"Yeah, I thought I heard that it sounds terrible?"

"Well, it does, but I was thinking-"

"That's new," George and Rose chorused.

"- that perhaps it's some sort of creature," Fred finished with an irritated look in their direction.

"Wow, he really thought that through," George said as he flopped back onto his back, "I can smell the smoke."

Rose laughed, "Be nice!" she lightly pushed George's shoulder before turning back to Fred, "It's worth considering. But it would have to be something they had a trick to understand."

"Some sort of Code, perhaps?" George asked.

"They'd have to be mathematically inclined to figure something like that out," Fred said.

"Most wizards and witches aren't."

"Good point," George conceded.

"We'll listen to it after the ball if he hasn't figured it out by then," Rose said with a yawn.

"Works for us."

They were quiet as they moved closer to each other, taking comfort in their shared warmth. Rose started drifting away to sleep but she was slightly jolted awake by Fred.

"What's your dress look like, Rose?"

She heard a smacking sound, a yelp, and then George's hissed whisper, "She'd kill us if she actually answered!"

"Good point," Fred sighed.

"You're both annoying," Rose muttered.

"Sorry, Princess," George said as he kissed her cheek.

"Sleep, Spitfire."

"'Night, guys."

"'Night, Rose."


	22. Chapter 22

"You know, Rose, it's really nice that you're hanging out here more often," Lavender said with a broad grin across the table from Rose in the Common Room.

"Well, you know, 'let sleeping Dragon's lie' and all that," Rose said with a smirk.

Lavender laughed at Rose while shaking her head, "I would let him sleep too if it were me."

In all honesty, Rose hadn't wanted to be seen in the Common Room more, but she needed to get Emery used to her not being there every second of every day. It didn't help that Fred and George had had a great success with their Canary Creams, and for the first couple of days of the holidays, people kept bursting into feather all over the place. Before long, however, all the Gryffindors had learned to treat food anybody else offered them with extreme caution, in case it had a Canary Cream concealed in the center, and Fred, George, and Rose were now working on something else.

Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and ts grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.

"It is too 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food," they heard her saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening (Ron skulking behind Harry, keen not to be spotted by Fleur). "I will not fit into my dress robes!"

"Oooh there's a tragedy," Hermione snapped as Fleur went out into the entrance hall. "She really thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn't she?"

"Thanks, Hermione!" Rose suddenly yelled, "I'll see you all later!" She started running after Fleur.

"Woah, Woah, Woah!" Fred said, catching her wrist and pulling her back. "Where are you going?"

"After Fleur," Rose said as if it were obvious. She leaned up and kissed him quickly before turning to George and kissing him too. "Watch after Fred for me, George. Fred, you're in charge!" she started running off again.

"That makes no sense!" They yelled after her.

She just laughed as she ran to catch up with Fleur.

"Fleur! Fleur!"

Fleur paused in her walking and turned to see Rose running up to her, sliding through the snow to stop in front of her.

"Oui? What do 'oo want?" Fleur asked with a sharp glare at Rose's antics.

"Well, I overheard you complaining about not fitting into your dress robes and I had a thought!" Rose was using the power of her earrings to speak in French, which obviously knocked Fleur a little off kilter.

Fleur just sniffed with disdain and raised her eyebrows, though, trying not to show it, "What is it?"

"Do you work out?"

Fleur's eyebrows bunched together, "No."

"Want to? You'll get stronger for the tournament and stay skinny!"

"Are you suggesting I work out with you?"

Rose smirked, "Oh, no. I'm much too strong for that."

The challenge had been thrown. This was, in all honesty, a test. If Fleur were really just an obscenely pretty human, then she would likely get insulted and walk away. If she were part Veela though, then she would feel challenged and she'd have to insist that Rose work out with her.

"Nothing is too strong for me. I will work out with you. When do we start?"

Rose smirked, "Choose a date and send it to me. I'm Rose Potter, by the way."

Rose started running away, ignoring Fleur's shocked gasp and call for her to come back.

* * *

"Wait, pass that by me again," Rose said with a frown.

"We haven't told Ron yet," Harry said with a grimace.

"And why not?" Rose leaned back in her chair. "Is he not your best friend?"

"Well…"

"No," Rose's eyes widened.

"Yes," Harry sighed.

"Oh, Harry…"

"I know!"

Rose shook her head. Harry's news did not surprise her, but she was surprised about his news concerning Ron. "So. Hermione is going with you to the dance."

"Yes."

"Ron doesn't know."

"Yes."

" _Victor Krum_ asked her."

"Yes," this time his answer was vaguely growled.

"Not to mention Ronald likes her."

Harry simply sighed.

"And… _You don't know how to dance._ "

"Yes! Now, are you going to help me or not?!"

Rose smiled and shook her head, "Oh, Harry, and here I was thinking you'd never actually ask her."

Harry groaned and went to stand up, but Rose quickly stopped him by talking again, "Okay, here's the thing, Brother o' mine. You'll need to get Ron a date."

"But-"

"And I happen to know Lavender needs a date."

Harry paused, "That's-"

"Genius, I know. Now, all you have to do is tell Lavender that Ron really wants to go with her, but he's nervous after Fleur turned him down. Then, if she still says no simply say that Hermione already has a date."

Harry's eyes grew wide, "You're-"

"Thinking like a Slytherin? A bit. Now. As for the dancing…"

Rose snapped her fingers and Zolsy appeared, "Yes, Mistress?"

"Zolsy, I have been informed of something terrible, horrendous, so heinous that it cannot be allowed to go on."

Zolsy's eyes grew wide before they narrowed with determination, "What is it, Mistress?"

Rose leaned forward and said, in her most mournful voice, "Harry does not know how to dance."

Zolsy gasped comically and her hand flew to cover her mouth before turning to Harry, "Master Harry can't dance?!"

Harry nodded nervously, "I was never taught."

Zolsy frowned severely, "You shall learn! For two hours every day, you will be dancing with an instructor!"

"An instruct-?"

"I recommend that we use an empty classroom, Zolsy. And, perhaps, take Fred and George to learn too? If you'd like I can freshen up my skills as well."

"Of course, Mistress. Zolsy will be figuring it out." With that Zolsy popped away and Harry looked at Rose with wide eyes.

"Where did you even learn how to dance, anyway?"

Rose smiled wistfully, "Remus and Sirius. When you were away with Ron they would often dance with me, Sirius is great at Waltzing and tangoing. Walburga forced him to learn. And Remus is like a spaghetti noodle, any sort of modern dance and he can do it."

"Did you just say he's a spaghetti noodle?"

"I did, and I don't take it back," Rose smiled and stood up. "Anyways, I need to go. I promised I'd see Roma."

"Okay?"

Rose rolled her eyes, "Okay, Rose, I'll see you later! Okay, Rose, I hope you have fun! Thank you, Rose, for the help! I'll be forever grateful, Rose!"

"Get!" Harry shooed her away with a mock glare and Rose rolled her eyes and laughed as she walked off. As soon as she got out of the Portrait hole, though, she stopped and raised her eyebrows. There Neville stood, pacing, and muttering to himself.

"Neville…?" Rose asked with raised eyebrows.

"Rose!" Neville snapped to attention, and his cheeks flushed. "What are you doing here?"

Rose frowned, "I just left the Common Room that you're pacing outside of?"

Neville got more pink, "Right. Yeah. That makes sense."

"Did you forget the password again?" Rose asked sympathetically.

"No," Neville's shoulder's slumped in defeat. "I'm trying to be a Gryffindor."

"You are a Gryffindor, or have you forgotten already?" Rose waved her hand for him to follow her.

"Well, no… It's just…"

"The person you're trying to ask out makes you nervous? Or you really like them? Or…?"

"They have six brothers."

Rose paused and raised her eyebrows at Neville. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Neville nodded his head. "She really wants to go, and I really like her but not as a like like thing! More as a like thing, you know, like, a friend?"

"Neville," Rose stopped walking and smiled kindly at the boy. "Believe me when I say that you are making something out of nothing. She'd love to go with you, as you already stated, so get that good 'ol courage together and go get the girl!"

Neville paused before nodding. "Yeah. Go get the girl. Exactly." He mumbled to himself as he wandered off before turning abruptly and calling after Rose's retreating form, "Thanks, Rose!"

Rose waved his thanks away and continued on her way to Ravenclaw's study. She hummed as she walked and slipped into the room unnoticed. Roma, of course, was already there.

"Hiya!" Rose said cheerfully.

"Why do you insist on butchering my language with your English terms?" Roma said with a sigh.

"Because your language is boring. Why does your language insist on being so… Cut and dry?"

"It isn't. You just don't know the slang." Roma glared at her, but the glare didn't stay long before he was smiling again. "So, gonna sleep again?"

"Nope! I'm all yours! You've got my undivided attention!" Rose grinned at him.

"You're a terrible liar."

"I'm a great liar unless you're from Durmstrang."

They laughed together for a second before they embraced. Rose appreciated hugging Roma, he was surprisingly strong for his reedy frame, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was a requirement to work out at Durmstrang.

Looking at all the students; it had to be.

"So," Roma sat in a chair, and she sat spread out on the couch. "Have your lot figured out the egg yet?"

"No, have yours?"

"No," Rose sighed. "Granted I'm not surprised. My idiot brother somehow doesn't think it's important to focus on that at the moment."

"Miss Potter, don't talk about your brother that way," Ravenclaw scolded, understanding Rose because of Rose's earrings.

"Yes Rowena," Rose said on instinct before continuing on, "I mean, come on, this competition could literally kill him, he could at least put a LITTLE more effort into it!"

"Victor is the same," Roma said with a nod. "Over confident. Thinks that this is just like Quidditch, which comes naturally to him."

"Don't talk about Victor," Rose pleaded. "I'm still miffed with him because of what he did to the poor Chinese Fireball's eggs."

"They were real eggs?" Roma asked, startled. "We assumed the organizers wouldn't be so stupid as to put actual dragon eggs out there."

"Yeah, well, no one listens to me so…"

"I listen to you. And so do those twins."

"True," Rose said with a nod. "But adults don't like listening to me. My Moomey and Dadfoot do, but that's about it."

"Moomey and Dadfoot…?"

"Sorry," Rose shook her head. "Godfather and his best friend."

"Ahh," Roma nodded his head. "I understand. They raised you together?"

"Yeah, my Godfather didn't think he could handle it, and his best friend didn't think so either so they decided to work together."

"Fascinating."

They sat in silence for a while, only the shuffling of papers and flipping of pages breaking it. Finally, Rose couldn't take the silence anymore, this silence felt wrong to her for some reason, so she spoke up.

"So… The ball is coming up. Are you going?"

"Of course I'm going. I asked a Beauxbaton girl, she agreed."

"Ooh la la, getting all fancy on me, Roma?" Rose asked while batting her eyelashes playfully at her friend.

"As if, Rose," Roma said with a roll of his eyes, although he looked vaguely uncomfortable. "It was mutually beneficial."

Rose paused and tilted her head to the side in confusion, "A date to the Yule Ball is 'mutually beneficial?'"

"Yes," Roma said, rather simply.

Rose looked at Roma thoughtfully before it suddenly clicked in her head, "Roma, are you a pureblood?"

"Yes."

"Does her family know yours?"

"Yes."

"Ahh."

And that was all that needed to be said. Because now Rose understood how it was 'mutually beneficial.' One of the benefits of having been friends with Draco Malfoy for so long was understanding Pureblood society very well, along with some of their social mores. For instance, in a public social gathering, those with pureblood who were still part of the more elite social circles were nearly required to go with another pureblood of the same social caliber, perhaps higher if it were possible. The fact that his parents knew the girl too made it even more understandable, as it was likely they were looking for a prospective bride for him.

Rose pitied those who had to live that life. Yes, they were raised that way and likely didn't know any different, but they were missing out on a lot in life. Like falling in love with someone, and it not being arranged, or being a regular child who occasionally misbehaved. That was likely why many purebloods became Slytherins or Ravenclaws, both seemed aloof and unapproachable.

"I'm sorry?" Rose finally said as she mulled things over.

"Don't be. Cosette is a sweet girl, I could do worse."

Rose heard the unspoken 'but I could do better' but didn't mention it. Pureblood politics weren't her forte, but she understood enough to appreciate how lucky she was to be a half-blood raised by a blood traitor.

They sat for a long while, simply talking about assignments or the tournament. Rose, when the time came for her to leave, assured him he'd see her at the ball, and hugged him. While Roma was both foreign and very nearly a stranger, he was still a good friend.

* * *

"I want an acromantula for Christmas, only an acromantula will doo-"

"I hope not! We have enough magical beasts!" George said with wide eyes when he registered what Rose was singing as she did paperwork.

"Hey! Those are our children!" Fred said back, pressing his hand to his heart dramatically, earning a pleased rumble from Eddie, who was oozing the scent of chocolate from his place in the middle of the bed.

"Speaking of children," George snapped his fingers and pointed at Rose, who had started at the snap. "Who are you going to go meet?"

"Who says it's a kid?" Rose asked, affronted.

"Well… No one, really," Fred offered. "But I was the most likely thing for you to actually go see someone. You know, if they were younger and needed help."

"I went to see Roma a few days ago!"

Fred growled and George flicked his twin's ear, "That doesn't count, and be careful, there's a wolf among us."

Rose rolled her eyes before looking dead into Fred's, "Down boy."

"Oh, you're gonna get it now!" Fred yelled as he stood, making Rose screech, and run off in a cloud of papers. Fred ran after her, leaving George looking around the mess that was now their room with wide eyes.

"Oi!" he yelled after them. "No foreplay without me!" and he too joined the chase.

He didn't get to run far before Rose barreled into him her eyes playful but filled with steel, "No mentions of foreplay in front of the kids unless you're the one who's going to explain it." Then she was off like a shot again, and Fred skidded around a corner, almost running into a wall before he stood before George, his hands on his knees as he panted.

"She's a fast runner. Where does she get her stamina from?" he asked between puffs of breath.

"I'd imagine it's from growing up around two Marauders and Harry," George offered. "My turn to chase?"

Fred waved his hand, "Be gone, brother of mine. I'll be here," he muttered as he slowly slid down the wall.

George immediately started pursuing Rose again, not knowing that Rose was back in the bedroom, curled up with a purring Eddie.

"Who's my good boy?" she cooed as she pet him, smiling at the shortbread smell that filled the room along with his rumbling purrs.

"Me, obviously," he said, his tail flicking lightly as she found a spot he liked being rubbed.

"You act like I spoil you or something," Rose huffed quietly, rubbing his stomach.

"Never," was his succinct answer, his purr only getting louder.

Rose looked over at the door, waiting for one of the twins to realize that she wasn't being chased anymore.

"Looking for my dads'?" Eddie asked sweetly.

"Not really. They're looking for me."

"Want me to go occupy Emery?" Eddie asked sweetly, causing Rose to blush.

"Well…"

Eddie slowly stretched before slowly making his way to the floor and looking at Rose with amused eyes, "I'll see you later, mom."

"Oh, hush you!"

Rose laughed and got off of the bed too, going to grab a book. However, she never reached her intended area as Fred crashed his way into the room, George thundering behind him. While both of them had broad grins, she could see in their eyes they were worried. She couldn't even open her mouth to explain before Fred was wrapped around her, his mouth pressed urgently against hers.

"Rose," he quietly growled.

She felt her face flush as she opened her eyes a bit to stare nervously at him.

"Yes?" she squeaked.

"We were worried," George said, stealing her from his twins arms and planting a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry?"

"You better be," Fred muttered, his eyes filled with a fire that Rose recognized as lust. She knew that Fred had a thing for chasing, but she didn't know it went _that_ deep.

"Rose, I'm going to let you go, and you're going to spend some time with Fred," George said after a moment. "I think I'm going to go spend time with Emery and Eddie."

"Okay," Rose said breathlessly, her eyes never leaving Fred's. She felt George place a kiss on her cheek and release her, lightly pushing her towards his twin. However, she needed no prompting as she practically melted against Fred's chest, his arms wrapping around her and his lips demanding all her attention.

Rose would like to claim that she heard George's snide comment about protection or the door closing. In actuality, she heard nothing. She only had time to process Fred's hands traveling from the small of her back to her arse and then her upper thighs as he hoisted her up, causing her legs to wrap around his hips.

"No sex," she muttered through their kisses as he turned them and pressed her into the bed.

"No sex," he agreed, although his hips moved so he was lightly thrusting against her.

Rose groaned quietly causing him to groan too. "Don't just disappear like that again," he muttered to her, removing his lips from her now swollen ones to pepper kisses up and down her neck.

"I didn't-"

"Hush," his word was punctuated by a bite on her shoulder.

Rose was pretty sure she was in heaven. She wasn't quite certain about what was happening to her (was this considered rutting, or was it groping because _oh Merlin keep touching me there!_ ) but she knew that this had to do with her hiding. She lightly hit his shoulders and growled, eliciting a growl from him in return.

"Listen, you can't just- _ah_ – you can't just keep _– ngh –_ assume that I'll stay in the same place constantly!"

"Your bond was closed," Fred said, his breathing now more of a pant. "We worried."

"Obviously you more than George."

"He worried too," Fred's voice was like steel, and his hands went to her jeans, unsnapping and unzipping them before pulling them down.

"Fred…" Rose quietly warned.

"I know, no sex."

RPRPRPRPRPR

 **I know, a rude place to end it. I'll likely use this as the chapter that opens the side story I'm writing, which is just their sexual exploits. Sorry I was gone so long, and I hope this makes up for it a bit!**


	23. Chapter 23

"How did you get all of this equipment here?" Fleur asked as she looked around the empty classroom Rose had turned into a workout room in.

"House-elves," Rose said with a grin. She looked around the room. There were weights, a pull-up bar, a stationary bike, a flat bench press and more. She didn't question it, really, and just chalked it up to Zolsy embracing her 'Mistress' getting into better shape.

"You have house-elves?" Fleur said, sounding impressed as she walked over to the pull-up bar.

"Yes. Don't you?" Rose asked, approaching the stationary bike.

"I do," she agreed. "Just not while in school."

"I probably shouldn't have them either," Rose noted.

They were quiet for a time as they exercised. Fleur moved from one thing to the next while Rose stayed on the bike, knowing that she needed stronger legs than arms. However, once she noticed Fleur eyeing the bike she wiped her sweat-soaked bangs from her eyes and got off of it, moving onto the pull-up bar.

"You like the bike?" She asked as she started using it, watching Rose jump up a bit to reach the bar.

"Yeah," Rose grunted as she pulled herself up slowly but surely.

"You are quiet while working out. It is a good change."

Rose laughed, and that was all she needed to lose her focus and drop her head below the bar again, causing her to have to pull up again. "Thanks?"

"It was not meant as a compliment."

"I didn't think so," Rose grunted as she dropped down again before swinging her legs up onto the bar and doing sit ups.

They were quiet again, although their panting breath and Rose's grunts filled the air. They went on like this for maybe half an hour, Rose switching equipment every so often before Fleur groaned and dismounted from the bike.

"I give up. If I go longer I will not be able to walk back to the carriage!" Fleur said while stretching her legs.

"Oh thank Merlin," Rose said, putting a weight down. "I thought I was going to die if I went much longer."

"Of course you were waiting for me," Fleur groused.

"I am stubborn," Rose mused.

They both eyed each other as they stretched, occasionally helping the other one stretch if necessary. They were both sweaty and tired but grinning. They didn't particularly like each other, but working out brings people together in strange ways.

Zolsy popped into the room as both of them sipped at some water, looking at Rose reprimindingly, "Mistress should not be wearing that type of clothing in public!"

Rose looked down at her purple crop top and yoga pants, tilting her head in confusion. "I'm not really in public though?"

"That's no excuse! Mistress has dancing to do!"

Rose paled and looked at Fleur, who only looked amused, "Your house-elves boss you around?"

"Yes, they do," Rose admitted with a sigh before looking back to Zolsy. "Fine. Take me to dancing." Rose looked back at Fleur. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, you will."

Rose smiled and held her hand out to Zolsy, both disappearing with a pop.

"Blimey! What are you wearing?!" was the first thing she heard after the squeezing sensation passed.

"What is it with everyone's fascination with my clothing?" Rose asked her twin with a sigh.

"The fact that it doesn't cover your stomach, I reckon," Harry said, still sounding mildly offended by her clothing choice.

"Of the fact it makes your arse look amazing?" George said with a broad grin.

"That it does, Georgie, that it does," Fred said with a wicked grin, causing Rose to blush.

"Oi! That's my sister you're talking about!"

"And our girlfriend," was the twins' quick remark.

"Regardless of Miss Potter's fashion decisions, I think it is time to dance," a fluid baritone voice said from the left. Rose turned to look at him, and the first thing she noticed was his height. Tall, dark, and handsome. She turned to look at Zolsy in confusion for a second before holding her hand out to the man.

"I'm sorry, I've been terribly rude. My name is Rose Potter, it's nice to meet you Mister…?"

"Cleveland, Miss Potter," the man said, his hand enveloping hers partially, turning it, and then leaning down to kiss it. Despite herself, Rose released a giggle and Zolsy slapped the back of her thigh. "I was hired by you to teach these boys how to dance."

"Yes, you were. I'm here to help, or learn, or both, it would appear." Rose said with a broad smile.

"Well, I'll see where you stand on dancing first. Messers Weasley and Potter, go ahead and sit back and watch; I have a feeling Miss Potter actually knows what she's doing."

Rose blushed again and sent reassurance at the rather tense looking twins. Music started playing and she recognized that it was for a traditional waltz. Her right hand immediately went to Mr. Cleveland's left, and she held it up at his shoulder height, his right moving to her shoulder blade and her left moving to the seam of his shoulder.

Without any prompting, they began to dance, rather seamlessly. Her right foot went back, she stepped diagonally with her left foot, then she brought her right foot to her left foot again. Step forward with her left, step diagonally with her right, feet back together. The pattern, to Rose, was simple, and she fell into it rather easily. She anticipated him wanting her to turn, and so started throwing in quarter turns and three-quarter turns, giggling a bit as she did. In all honesty, she hadn't danced like this for a few years, and it was nice to finally dance again.

The music stopped and so did the dance. Rose stayed in position for a moment, as was protocol, before dropping her posture and relaxing, grinning at the man in front of her, "You're not such a bad dancer." She quipped.

"You're not so bad yourself," he said with a robust laugh.

He then turned to the three rather baffled boys, "And that, boys, is how you dance with a girl."

Then the training began. Harry was a fast learner, dancing wise, and soon enough he was spinning me around the room, laughing the whole time, remarking about how this was better than what McGonagall had had them do. Rose was nearly out of breath after dancing with her twin, although she got to be amused watching the twins dance.

After every step, they would change who was the lead, which made it all very complicated. They were laughing and holding each other primly and properly, their eyes filled with mirth, at least until they saw Rose watching them.

Now heated eyes rested heavily on Rose as suddenly their joke of a dance turned serious, Fred surprisingly letting George lead the dance. Rose raised her eyebrows, impressed, and shook her head with a smirk. Of course, they were only joking around because she wasn't paying attention to them.

"They're surprisingly good when they're serious about it," Harry said to her side.

"Oh, I knew they would be. All Quidditch players are pretty good at dancing if they honestly try; just like you," Rose pointed out.

The song the twins had been dancing to ended, and Fred and George appeared in front of her, "Milady," they both said with a bow.

"My idiot twin brother – " George said

"- the much better looking one - " Fred continued.

"-would like- "

"- to request from you – "

"- a dance," they finished together.

"I would love to dance with you, Fred," Rose said with a grin.

"And MY idiot twin brother –" Fred said before George cut him off.

" – the MUCH better looking one –" George said with a smirk.

"- would like –"

"- to request from you, Harry –"

" – a dance," they finished together again.

"Umm, I'm not sure-"

"My idiot twin brother, of course, agrees to dance with George," Rose assured.

"Hey!"

Rose and the twins laughed, Fred pulling her away from George to dance, finally taking the lead, and George and Harry dancing, George gallantly letting Harry lead. Mister Cleveland watched in amusement at the antics, and while all of the children were busy dancing with each other he turned to Zolsy.

"They're certainly going to make the house of Potter livelier," he said with a grin.

"Oh, they be doing that and more, sir," Zolsy said, rather diplomatically.

"Indeed," he said, watching the children in front of him laugh and talk happily while dancing around like pros.

* * *

 _Dear Rose,_

 _Congratulations on keeping your brother alive when he went passed the Horntail. Whoever put his name in that goblet shouldn't be feeling too happy right now! I was going to suggest a Conjunctivitis Curse, as a dragon's eyes are its weakest point – don't look at the letter like that- but your way was better. I'm impressed._

 _Don't forget to have fun while keeping your twin alive, though. You have time before the next task; relax. I've told Harry to keep his guard up, so you should be able to let yours down a bit._

 _Now that that's out of the way. How is my grand-dragon doing? I love the pictures you've been sending! My favorite is probably that one where he is chasing the wolf around the frame, though I feel bad for the wolf._

 _Keep in touch, I still want to hear about anything unusual. Merry Christmas._

 _Sirius_

 _Dear Rose,_

 _Your godfather is driving me insane! I'm trying to have the baby as soon as possible just to get him out of my hair! Remus seems to believe that this whole thing is entirely too entertaining and refuses to help me when Sirius gets too protective, (I want to lift something heavier than a milk jug. It's cruel and unusual punishment to not be allowed to) and it makes me want to wring his neck, but so far, we've made it through this without any bodily harm to anyone._

 _Oh, I hope you didn't feel too attached to that green vase that Remus bought you when you were little. They both claim you don't remember that it was yours and that you hate it too, but I never trust what they have to say. It broke in one of my fits of rage, and it's apparently magic resistant; either that or my magic really has gone that haywire._

 _Regardless, dear, keep in touch. I want more pictures of Emery!_

 _Merry Christmas,_

 _Victoria_

 _Dear Rose,_

 _Victoria is fit to burst, in more way than one. I've taken to spending much of my time with Delco, and by proxy, Cian. I've got to say, I saw the aftermath of what your dragon, my 'grand-dragon', Emery, did, and Cian seemed a tad bit shaken. I also want to comment and say that bringing a baby dragon out and about really wasn't a good idea in the first place. However, I'm most amazed that you let Cian drink from you and you neglected to tell either Sirius or me._

 _That was a very serious decision, as I'm sure you know, and I hope you aren't going to suffer for it. However, Cian is eternally grateful for what you did, so I don't think this can end to poorly. Delco, Cian, and Faith send their love, by the way._

 _Merry Christmas, hopefully, this will be a good one._

 _Remus_

"You know," George said from her left, causing her to yip and jump up a bit. "he does have a good point. That was utterly reckless and we shouldn't have let you do it."

"Where's Fred?" Rose asked, looking around, knowing instinctually that this was a bad conversation to have with him around.

"Asleep still," George said as he sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "And don't change the subject. How have you been feeling since then?"

Rose sighed tiredly and rubbed her face, "I've felt fine, honestly. Sometimes I'll notice things that I don't know how I noticed. Like, for instance, there's a bird outside of the cave about 100 feet away."

George turned and nodded his head after he affirmed that she was correct. "I can also tell that when I said that and you looked away your heart rate picked up. Probably because you were nervous about turning so your neck was exposed."

George's ears turned red and he looked down a bit, "It's just, I don't know anything about it. What if you were turned partially?"

"I promise I wasn't," Rose assured. "What happened in my instance is he, essentially, can track me really well now. He'll get a sense of when I'm in danger like you and Fred do but to a much lesser extent. His is more of a sense that he should be somewhere else, while yours would be like a dip into a bucket of ice water and a panicking sensation."

George nodded his head, his temporary burst of protectiveness swayed by her words. "If you're certain."

"I'm certain," Rose said, laying her letters down and curling into his side.

George kissed the top of her head and smiled, allowing silence to descend upon them as they watched the woods around the cave, both waiting for Emery to bring back a new trinket that he had found.

* * *

"Good morning Mistress Rose!"

Rose and the twins all jolted awake at Zolsy's call, Fred releasing a stream of expletives, George groaning, and Rose just sighing and accepting her lot in life.

"Zolsy, who do you hate us?" George said with a growl, curling up around Rose as Fred did the same from the other side of the bed.

"Zolsy doesn't hate her Mistress or her Wheezy's. Zolsy be thinking that Mistress and Wheezy's would like to wake up early on Christmas!"

"Christmas!" Fred and George yelled, up and running to the tree in a flash as all Weasley's did on Christmas morning.

Rose turned to Zolsy and smiled at her, "Can you go help the other elves prepare Christmas dinner?"

"Of course, Mistress," with that, Zolsy popped out of existence.

Rose went through her presents and smiled softly the whole while, mainly watching Fred and George who tore every present open with gusto and mirth. Rose got a bag of Dungbombs from Ron; a pick-pocket-pen-knife from Sirius and Victoria; a muggle book of Fairytales from Remus and Faith; a bag of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum from Harry; a cookbook (of course it was a book) for French cuisine from Hermione; the normal package from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley (Sugar cookies, a green sweater with Fred's, George's, and her own initials interspersed in tiny stitches throughout it); a bag of 20 galleons from Bill; a book of Ministerial Facts from Percy; a dragon scale from Firefly from Charlie. Not to mention Fred and George's combined gift, which was a pinky ring that was a dragon that wrapped around her finger and flashed its opal eyes at her.

She noted the absence of gifts from Delco and Cian and simply assumed Cian had forgotten how to deal with normal human time again, and that Delco wasn't sure what to get her. She smiled slightly at the thought - not really pegging Delco for a worrier – but the image of him pacing through his house pulling at his short hair while muttering obscenities to himself as he agonized over what to get her for Christmas made her laugh with mirth.

Rose and the twins, now that their present opening was done left their room to go to the Common room where they met with the Golden Trio to head down to breakfast. They spent most of the morning in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers.

They went out onto the grounds in the afternoon; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. Hermione and Rose chose to watch Harry and the Weasleys' snowball fight rather than join in, and at five o'clock they said they were going back upstairs to get ready for the ball.

"What, you need three hours?" said Ron, looking at them incredulously and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. "Who're you going with?" he yelled after them, but they just waved and disappeared up the stone steps into the castle.

"And you promise you can get my hair under control?" Hermione asked anxiously, patting her mane of curls self-consciously.

"I said nothing about me doing it," Rose said. "I said that I'd get it done. Don't worry, I need help with mine too."

They entered their dormitory, a room Rose had hardly been in since before the first task, to find Parvati, Lavender, and of all people, Ginny panicking about getting ready. Rose and Hermione looked around the disaster that was the dormitory with wide eyes before Rose finally gained everyone's attention by whistling loudly.

"Everyone, calm down, I have it all under control! We deserve to be pampered, to relax. I know a way to do that and still look fabulous." Rose looked around at the girls, who all looked relieved now, and smiled. "Are you ready to look our best?"

"Yes!" they all chorused and Rose smiled before calling out softly, "Vandy!"

A cloud of orange dust appeared, and with a small pop Vandy appeared, "Yes, mistress?"

"I need an elf for each of us," Rose easily commanded, slipping into her role as mistress of house Potter without thought. "You'll be mine."

"Obviously." Vandy clapped his hands and four other elves appeared. "You are to help mistresses friends get ready for the ball."

They nodded and each elf took a girl. Vandy looked Rose up and down, and her dress appeared out of nowhere, hovering near her. He hummed thoughtfully and nodded his head. "Yes, yes, I can work with this. Sit on your bed, Mistress."

Rose sat on her bed, moving her hair so she didn't sit on it. She felt a brush starting to go through it, and she watched Hermione, who was right across from her.

"So, Hermione, are you excited to go to the dance?" she asked conversationally.

"Yes," Hermione replied succinctly. "I am nervous about dancing though."

"Don't be, your partner has been practicing avidly."

"Really?" Hermione's eyes lit up and her back straightened a bit proudly. She then glanced over at Lavender and spoke again. "Do you know who else has been practicing?"

"My two dates, and your date, and Ginny's date, but I'm not sure about anyone else."

It was true that Ginny's date had been practicing. Neville had approached Rose and begged her to help him. She accepted, of course, and she quickly discovered that although Neville was clumsy while walking he was very good at watching where his feet went when dancing. However, it was a lie about not knowing about anyone else. She knew for a fact that Ron wasn't practicing how to dance, and she almost felt bad for Lavender because of it.

"Did you at least help Ron with his dress robes?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, I did, it was my Christmas present to him."

"Turn your head, Mistress."

Rose turned her head for Vandy while still talking to Hermione, "And I edited Harry's outfit to match yours, of course. I do so love your dress."

"I love it too!" Hermione said excitedly. "I felt like a princess in it!"

Rose resisted the urge to inform her that technically if she stayed with Harry, she would be counted as a princess just as all pure-bloods or House leaders were.

"Well, I'm sure you'll knock your date's socks off."

"That's such a disgusting phrase," Lavender whined. "I just never understood it."

"Well it's because you don't have sex with socks on, you know?" Parvati said without thinking.

"Ew!" Ginny squealed.

"Well, it's true!" Parvati said, now on the defensive.

"Oh, how much experience with sex do you have, Parvati?"

"Oh, Merlin make it stop!" Ginny whined.

"Stay still, Miss Wheezy."

"Sorry," Ginny said meekly.

"Don't worry Parvati, we won't tell anyone," Hermione said reassuringly.

After that, there just appeared to be a blur of activity, each girl finishing different stages at different times. Hermione's hair took the longest by far, but her makeup was the quickest. Each girl finished at approximately the same time, and they all got dressed quickly.

Parvati was wearing robes of shocking pink, with her long dark plait braided with gold, and gold bracelets glimmering at her wrists. There were dark charcoal lines that accented her almond eyes wonderfully, and she was grinning from ear to ear. She was the first girl to leave the room, not patient enough to wait it out.

Lavender was wearing a dress in -wait for it- lavender. It was a halter-necked dress that ended shortly under her knees, making her strappy black high heels noticeable. Her hair was pulled up into an intricate updo, which somehow accented her neck. Lavender was the second to leave.

Ginny's hair was straight and flowing over her shoulders. It accented her green and pink dress perfectly, making her look older but not too old at the same time. She also wore a thin green ribbon around her neck like a chocker. She hugged Hermione and Rose and then left.

Hermione didn't look like Hermione. Her hair was sleek and shiny and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding herself more confidently.

Rose herself was wearing an A-line, evening gown with a sweetheart neckline, in a light pink. It hugged her gently before swishing out and almost reaching the floor, so her silver flats were barely noticeable. Her hair was curled and pulled towards the back, clipped away from her face with a silver Rose clip.

"Well, this is it," Hermione said anxiously.

"Yes, it is," Rose said with a grin. She grabbed Hermione's hand and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, it wouldn't matter if you showed up in a burlap sack, Harry would still think you're beautiful."

"I do look amazing," Hermione admitted with pink tinged cheeks.

"We both do."


	24. Chapter 24

Draco Malfoy was not having a good winter break, and he wasn't sure if he would have another one ever again. First, he had a 'mission' from Dumbledore, which was more of a suicide mission than anything else, then he had to go see his father, then he had to deal with Severus ranting about how to be careful with everything he did all the time and, essentially, to check himself before he wrecked himself, although he said it in many more words. And none of that happened in that order.

" _Draco, my boy, I assure you, you are completely capable of this task. I know that I didn't do anything for the World Cup, but you can't always do important things in the open, can you? We have to act as if they've gotten the jump on us, no need to show our hand so early."_

"Show our hand too early my arse," Draco muttered as he stared at the fireplace in front of him, his stomach twisting and curling like a sickening typhoon was happening in his stomach.

That wasn't an image he needed in his head at the moment, so he roughly pushed it to the side. However, today seemed to be the day of unbidden thoughts, as thoughts of one Rose Potter appeared like specters behind his eyes.

 _Rose was laughing gaily as one of those cursed twins spun her around so she flew into the arms of the other. The three worked in perfect time together, making everyone around them envious, namely the females. Oh, and Draco. On one passing spin, her hair brushed against his arm and she didn't even notice it._

 _She didn't even notice him._

 _Rose was storming through the castle with the twins, ranting and raving about 'Emery' and how he was growing too fast, and how he needed to stop it or she'd 'run out of room.' The twins assuring her quietly that Emery was growing the perfect speed and that she'd never run out of room._

 _Rose talking with some Durmstrang boy in hushed tones, hugging a book close to her chest. The Durmstrang boy shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders before hugging her and walking away, Rose watching with sad eyes._

 _Rose-_

Draco shook his head and grounded himself in reality: in reality, he was at his father's Manor; in reality, he was about to go on a possible suicide mission; in reality, Rose probably wouldn't miss him.

He through the floo powder down and stepped into the flames; "The Phantom Isle!"

He was shocked when he went through the connection and came out onto a street filled with seedy people with shady wears. He knew that his gold could only do so much here, but that wasn't what he was concerned about. He pulled the hood of his thick cloak up and over his head, hiding his noticeable platinum blonde hair, and his Malfoy Physique. While it could come in handy later, it wouldn't be useful to use it now.

The Phantom Isle, or, in other words, the Black Market of the Wizarding world. Only those who weren't concerned about getting caught came here, although sometimes desperate people would come here in search of wears they couldn't get any other place. It was on an unplottable, moving island, and every time the Aurors thought they had found it the floo destination had changed, and they would bounce off the floo connection and fall out somewhere else. Eventually, the Aurors had just given up on getting in, finding out from someone they caught that only those who didn't mean harm to the Island's economy could get through; and by destroying every business there they would destroy the economy.

The Isle itself was a rather uninspiring sight. It was filled to the brim with buildings and stalls, there were jeering crowds of rowdy males trying to buy younger females from one area, another stall having a seedy looking goblin who was selling 'favors' in exchange for Goblin made items. Yet another stall was offering haircuts, and the girl there looked much like a Gypsy. There were jeers and yells in that general area, but none of those who made comments could get through some sort of ward that the girl had set up.

The Isle was surprisingly full until you realized that it was less about whether you were 'dark' or 'light' and rather more about your place in society. Vampires, werewolves, sirens, goblins, nymphs, dryads, fairies, anything, and everything could be found here, besides giants that is. There had been a giant once but it accidentally crushed some stalls and people and from that moment giants had been banned.

However, none of this mattered to Draco. Draco was on a mission; perhaps a suicide mission, but a mission nonetheless. He walked with purpose, grabbing a map of the island from a stand before going into a rickety old building that claimed to be a 'bar and inn' but was, in all actuality, a whore house that offered booze and a room to bed your chosen partner. Draco sneered and sat at a corner table, looking over the map before nodding to himself, finding what he had been looking for.

"Want to go to the back with me, sweet cheeks?" a fit, tanned beauty asked Draco, sliding herself onto the table and leaving her legs spread wide, her 'fancy' lingerie leaving nothing to the imagination.

"No, doll, not tonight," Draco drawled as he stood up, deepening his voice, before he swept back out of the building, on his way to his new destination; a wandmaker.

" _Your mission is to gather intelligence about the uprising of Voldemort. Find answers and report back to me."_

Draco smirked slightly; just because he had to gather intelligence didn't mean he couldn't make a few personal stops along the way. This wand would serve to help him greatly as he progressed in life, specifically with his dealings with Dumbledore. He stopped in front of one of the few buildings that didn't look decrepit and smiled at the name printed above the door; _Wand of Wonder_.

Hardly original, and rather tacky, but amusing nonetheless. Draco opened the door and stepped into the building. There were shelves filled with strange looking specimens, some looked like horns, others resembled worms, some looked like feathers or hair, and there were sticks of wood laying over a work table. Draco shut the door behind him just as a back door opened and an older gentleman walked in. He had gray, curly hair that was pulled back to reveal his long face, which wasn't helped by the goatee that he was sporting. His eyes were glittering green and set deep within their sockets, and they laid a bit too close to his nose. His steps were light and airy which drew attention to how small he was.

"Whatcha wan'?" the man grumbled as he approached Draco. "Bit young fer ya tah be here, ain't cha?"

"Obviously not, as I am here." Draco waved his hand and tried to keep from sounding reproachful. "I'm here to buy a wand."

"Ahviously," the man mocked. "'M Bryson. Come, lad, let's get tah makin' ya a wand. Don't suppose yer fine with handin' me yer original?"

"Not a chance."

"Didn't thin' so," Bryson sighed. "Ever done this befor'?"

"Never."

"Well, fine t'en. Make this diffi-cult." Bryson started pulling vials and jars down and grumbled quietly as he went about it. "Find me yer wood. Jus' hold yer hand over tah wood and wait until one calls."

Draco, deciding that he didn't like Bryson and he just wanted to get out of the store, nodded his head and walked over to the work table, holding his hand obediently above the sticks of wood. A few of them reacted instinctively to his magic signature, but one called to him above the others. He reached forward and grabbed the wood segment that had called to him.

Bryson glanced at the wood and made an interested humming noise; "Cedar. Impressiv'. Now, fer the cor' or cor's. Walk around, grab whatever calls to you."

Bryson snatched the wood from Draco's hands before Draco started walking around, ending up grabbing a vial, a feather, and a small tuft of hair.

Bryson shook his head, his dower personality lifting up a bit, "Tricky. Tricky. Cedar. Pheonix Feather, Nundu Tears, Griffin fur. Strange strange strange." Bryson set down the objects and pulled out his wand, talking to Draco as he cast spells at the items. "Phoenix feathers are tricky tah work wif. Right picky, they are. Nundu tears are pretty damn rare, an' expensiv' tah boot. They don' just choos' any ol' person, neither, they like people who can hold t'eir emotions. An' Griffin's fur… Well, tah be chosen by that ya hav' tah be right stubborn."

Draco had a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew for a fact that this wand would be expensive when he walked in, but with the way Bryson was talking it would be worse than he could've imagined. However, he was getting a personalized wand, and no matter the price this would come in handy with his double life. One wand for the darker side of things, one wand for the lighter side of things. And the fun part was that they were acquired on opposite sides of the spectrum.

Suddenly, Bryson stopped casting spells, and the wood and items combined into a wand, a slightly glowing wand. The base of the wand had somehow been etched with a dragon's head, and the rest of it was smooth.

"Ther' ya are. One wand. 200 galleons."

Draco nearly gagged on the number, but he obediently handed over the 200 galleons. In trade for the wand.

"Pleasur' doin' business witcha." Bryson bowed as Draco left the shop.

* * *

Rose took joy from the reactions she and Hermione got as they descended the stairs to the common room. The talking quieted for a moment before Harry and the twins materialized at the foot of the stairs. Hermione let go of Rose's hand and they separated to go to their respective dates.

"Wow… You look amazing, Rose," George said, adjusting his robes a bit self-consciously.

"Amazing doesn't cover it," Fred said with a confident bow, holding his hand out to Rose.

Rose gently placed her hand in his, feeling different than normal. This was uncharted territory, and she felt like a new person. Fred lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed it before passing it over to George, who did the same.

"You both look positively dashing too," she assured. "But I hear there's a dance to get to, and I'm rather eager to see what they've done to the great hall."

The twins walked with her through the packed common room and to the packed entrance hall. Everyone was milling around waiting for eight o'clock when the doors to the Great Hall would be thrown open. Those people who were meeting partners from different Houses were edging through the crowd trying to find one another.

"I wonder who Lee is going with?" Rose wondered allowed as the twins guarded her against anyone's approach.

"Angelina, apparently," George said.

"Yeah, he wouldn't bloody well shut up about it as we were getting ready." Fred rolled his eyes.

"Well, congratulations to them," Rose said with a laugh.

"No apology for our ears, love?" Fred asked coyly.

"Absolutely none," Rose said with a grin.

Just then a group of Slytherins came up the steps from their dungeon common room. Malfoy was in front; he was wearing dress robes of black velvet with a high collar, which in Rose's humble opinion made him look like a vicar. Pansy Parkinson in very frilly robes of pale pink was clutching Draco's arm. Crabbe and Goyle were both wearing green; they resembled moss-colored boulders, and neither of them, Rose was not surprised to see, had managed to find a partner.

The oak front doors opened, and everyone turned to look as the Durmstang students entered with Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the party, accompanied by a pretty girl with curly blonde hair. Over their heads Rose saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights – meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rosebushes that had been conjured there, and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Father Christmas and his reindeer.

Then Professor McGonagall's voice called, "Champions over here, please!"

And the doors opened. Everyone headed into the Great Hall, which was covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

"Oi, Fred, George, Rose! Come sit here!" Lee called out.

"You think we should, dear?" Fred asked with a grin.

"Of course," Rose said as she practically glided forward to sit a seat away from Angelina, allowing the twins to flank her.

Not long after everyone was settled in the doors opened again and everyone clapped as the Champions and their dates entered the room. Dumbledore smiled happily at the champions as they approached the top table, but Karkaroff wore an expression like he had just sucked on a lemon. Ludo Bagman, tonight in robes of bright purple with large yellow stars, was clapping as enthusiastically as any of the Students; and Madame Maxime, who had changed her usual uniform of black satin for a flowing gown of lavender silk, was applauding them politely. But Mr. Crouch, Rose suddenly realized, was not there. The fifth seat at the table was occupied by Percy Weasley.

"What is Pompous Percy doing here?" Rose asked the twins.

"What do we know? Not like we exchange letters," Fred pointed out.

"Well, that is true," Rose said with a nod.

Suddenly everyone became very aware that there was yet to be any food on the golden plates, and there were no waiters. There was silence before Dumbledore clearly spoke to his plate, "Pork Chops!"

And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea. The rest of the table placed their orders with their plates too. Rose herself, not bothering with the pretense of being a lady, ordered chicken legs, which came with mashed potatoes and chicken gravy.

"So, Rose," Angelina spoke as the twins and Lee quickly got lost in a conversation about pranks they should pull tonight, "how goes raising a baby dragon?"

"Oh, very well," Rose assured her. "It's exhausting, to say the least, but I'm so happy with it. Emery is really such a sweetie, but when he throws a tantrum…" Rose shuddered.

"I can't imagine," a Ravenclaw that Rose didn't know spoke up from her spot next to a Hufflepuff male. "It must be so hard!"

"Oh, it is," Rose said with a grin. "But that doesn't mean that I regret taking on the responsibility. It's really fulfilling-"

"And I'm sure it fills your pockets too," another Ravenclaw spoke up.

"Not mine," Rose said, honestly offended. "I give anything that I keep for myself to St. Mungo's, and everything else goes to my family. I don't have any need for the money."

"Yeah, Charon, don't be a prick," Angelina said with a glare.

"Charon?" Rose asked in interest. "You mean Homer Charon? Son of Marvin Charon?"

"The one and only," Homer Charon said with his chest puffing out like a proud peacock displaying its feathers.

"No wonder you were interested in filling your pockets, I've heard your family is going bankrupt."

There was an indignant sputtering from Charon before he huffed and shoved some of his goulash into his face. The female Ravenclaw laughed and leaned forward a bit in interest. "I'm Jessica Foster, daughter of Geoffrey Foster, it's nice to meet you, Rose Potter."

"It's nice to meet you too, Jessica Foster," Rose said with a grin. "These are my boyfriends, Fred and George Weasley, although I'm sure you've heard of them."

"Oh, she's heard of us," Fred said with a broad grin, tearing himself away from his conversation with Lee long enough to make a comment. "We turned her hair purple second year."

"Never quite forgave them either," Jessica said with a shrug. "But you seem to control them well."

The triad snorted and spoke together; "Hardly."

The conversation continued to flow, although it mainly centered on Emery and what it was like to raise a dragon. When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it.

The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hair and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and Rose, who had been so interested in watching them that she had almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realized that the lanterns on every table beside the head table had gone out and that Harry and the other champions and partners were standing up.

The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune; and Rose couldn't help but giggle when Hermione took charge of Harry and forced him to dance, although Harry quickly took control back. Soon enough more people were entering the dancefloor, including Fred, George, and Rose. They danced easily together, frequently handing Rose back and forth between the twins. It was much easier to dance to the next song; which was faster. Harry and Hermione were still dancing together, obviously having a grand time; Ron and Lavender were dancing together, Lavender distracting Ron away from Harry and Hermione enough that Ron couldn't sulk.

After three consecutive dances, Rose managed to convince the twins that she needed to rest, and Fred loped off to grab drinks for all three of them, leaving George and Rose alone for a moment.

"So, are you having fun?" George asked with a cocky grin.

"Oh, most definitely," Rose said flippantly. "I have this date, he has red hair and freckles, and he's fantastic. But his twin keeps hanging around, and I don't know what to do about him. In fact, he's so attached to us that my date went off to get all _three_ of us drinks."

George rolled his eyes as Rose laughed at her own joke, "Har har," he said after sticking his tongue out at her. "I saw it coming a mile away."

"Not every good joke has to be subtle, you of all people should know that."

George nodded, "Which is why I let Fred spike the punch instead of me."

Rose rolled her eyes as Fred appeared and handed the other two their drinks, "Successfully spiked!" Fred said with a grin.

"Boys, you can lie to each other all you want, but you can't lie to me." Rose took a sip of her drink and smiled at her bond mates. "I know that you wouldn't risk getting expelled for a prank, you're more logical than that."

"Damn, she's caught us," Fred muttered.

"I don't know how she sees through us so easily," George lamented.

"I'm just glad she keeps the two of you in line," a rather pompous voice spoke up, causing the twins and Rose to turn. There stood Perfect Pompous Peacock Percy Weasley.

"Percy," Rose said cordially as the twins groaned. "How are you doing?"

"I'm well, Rose, and-"

"Rrrose!" Roma's voice called out, interrupting Percy as he approached. "Have you met my lovely date Miss Capucine Escoffier?"

"I can't say I've had the pleasure," Rose said with a small smile. "It's lovely to meet you, Miss Escoffier."

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Potter," Capucine said with a small curtsey, and at that moment Roma seemed to finally notice there was an extra red-head. He turned to look at Percy with questioning eyes, and a hand held out to shake.

"Hello sirrr, I kan't say I rrremember meeting you. Are you those two's older brother?" Roma asked as Percy gripped onto his hand and nodded.

"I'm Percy Weasley," Percy spoke with a puffed-up chest. "And you are…?"

"Fu-" Roma cut himself off at Rose's giggle and rolled his eyes before speaking again, "Roma Tikhonovich. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Weasley."

"The pleasure is all mine," Percy assured. "I'm glad to see that this tournament is a success. It is meant to create inter-school friendships, and it appears you're rather close with Rose."

Rose could hear the protective edge to his voice and she blushed, sending a small but deadly glare at Percy. "Yes, we're study buddies," Rose said with a shrug.

"If by study buddies she means she helps me and I question everrrything I ever knew bekause of her," Roma said with a laugh.

Fred and George laughed and draped their arms over Rose, "That's our girl for you."

Rose blushed and stood quickly, "Miss Escoffier, would you mind if I stole your date for a dance? I offer up either of mine too, and they'll be on their best behavior."

Percy snorted indelicately, while Fred and George sent indignant looks at him. Before a fight could break out, Rose handed one of Capucine's hands to Fred, and then pushed them to the dance floor before leading Roma into a dance, sending George a look that clearly said to behave.

Once they were away from everyone else they started speaking in Bulgarian, "You will lead your family with a steel fist if that was any indication."

Rose smiled at him as he spun her for a second and she laughed, "Oh, you have no idea, dear. I'm one of two people who can control my twins."

"You're very possessive," Roma noted. "Is there any particular reason for that?"

"Nor particularly, it's just that they're mine. Just as I'm theirs."

"Have you read up on Triad's at all, Rose?"

Rose felt her blood run cold but she forced her head to nod, "Of course I have. I don't think I'd mind being part of a triad with Fred and George."

"But you're not already?"

Rose laughed, and marveled at the fact that it didn't sound strained, "Of course not. We'd be obscenely young for that to happen! And besides, Triads are very rare."

"I have a book on them that I'd like to give you," Roma said after pausing. "Consider it a Christmas present."

"Oh, Roma that isn't-"

"It is. And you'll see why when I give it to you."

With that, the dance was done and Fred and Capucine approached along with George. Fred and George took Rose from Roma, and Roma took Capucine from Fred. Roma and Rose shared a glance before leaving each other to dance with their original partners.


	25. Chapter 25

As the Yule Ball was happening, there was a meeting in Rose's trunk that she was unaware of. Eddie, Emery, Vitality, Aelfric, Maple, Galen, and many more creatures were present, each one for their own reasons. If Rose were to stumble into this meeting she would be ecstatic; so many of her friends in one place? And with two creatures she counted as her children? There would be nothing wrong with that image, in her eyes, which was exactly why they weren't letting her know about the meeting.

There was something wrong, after all, something desperately wrong.

"Wait, wait, wait," Emery called out, trying to gain order in the field they were using as a meeting place. "Everyone, please!"

" _OI! Shut it why don't cha?!"_ Eddie roared out, finally getting everyone to settle down.

"This is serious business, serious business indeed…" Vitality said as he ruffled his feathers.

"This is your fault in the first place!" Galen hooted, insulted.

"How was I supposed to know? I barely knew the girl!"

"Well if you would've-" Maple started but what cut off by Eddie and Emery's angry roars. There was silence again, and many stressed creatures finally settled down.

"Is there any way to fix this?" Eddie asked, his age coming through in the whimper of his voice.

"No," Vitality said slowly. "There isn't."

"This is my fault," Aelfric said balefully. "If I hadn't have introduced her to you…"

"She would've found him anyway," Emery said with a sigh. "Why was I told to protect someone when she obviously already has so many people protecting her?"

"I can't be there always. I can tell she doesn't want people to know about me yet," Vitality supplied.

"And I'm stuck in the forest and near the castle," Aelfric offered.

"I'm just a cat." Maple deadpanned.

"Just as I'm just an owl," Galen said with a gentle hoot that meant he was sighing.

"So… How many of you have bonded with her?" Emery sighed.

"Me." Maple purred.

"Moi!" Galen hooted, having picked up some French from the new French owls.

"And I, too, have bonded to her," Vitality said.

"And she bonded to me," Eddie said, flinching a bit at the hard stare Emery gave him.

"And how many two-leggers have bonded to her?"

There was a pause, before Zolsy spoke up, "My mistress is bonded to Misters Wheezy, both, the Master Potter, the Wolf, and the Vampire. The Vampire is temporary."

"So… Five," Aelfric said with a toothy grin.

"No fucking wonder she's so fucking powerful. Shit!" Marsha, the Jarvey, said.

"So, all together, that makes…" Galen started to speak before Maple cut him off.

"That makes nine."

There was silence again, and Emery sighed. "Aelfric. Grab the book, read the passage."

"Of course, Mister Dragon sir."

Aelfric zipped to a book in the middle of the area and cleared his throat no more than seven times as he searched for the appropriate passage before he started reading, "Each bond adds, but takes away, something from the Wizard or Witch the bond is formed to. For instance, Familiar bonds can, if with a powerful creature, add immense magical power, but if your familiar dies the witch or wizard will live with depleted magic after that moment. That's why, most typically, familiars are simply cats, owls, or toads, as their magical affinity is faint and will only affect your mental health for a short while, and have no effect on your magical health.

"Bonds with other witches and wizards, or magical beasts that look like humans, also come at their own cost. Some, like the twin bond, cannot be helped, and are to be cherished as they are special and cannot be forged from nothing. If, however, a member of a bond was to be injured, the other member would feel it as if it were their own pain. This is the danger of bonds; while they give you great boons, they can also leave you helpless when you need to be strong."

There was a collective sigh that filled the grove, but Emery spoke again, "And is there anything about the number of bonds a two-legger should have at most?"

Aelfric hummed as he flipped pages, everyone getting antsy as they waited for him. Finally, after the third page turn he spoke up, "A wizard or witch should try to limit themselves to five bonds, unless, like the Great Albus Dumbledore, they have a very powerful familiar. Then they should stop at the one."

Silence coated the grove like frost coated the tree branch that Vitality had settled upon. All eyes turned to look at the Phoenix, who looked almost ashamed. He heaved a great sigh and let out a mournful song, that soon had all creatures with the capability to do so start crying.

Love is a finicky thing, you see. You cannot always help who you love, and you will not always love who you think you should. However, love doesn't believe that your opinion in the matter is all that important, as matters of the heart are much harder to understand than matters of the brain. And thus, Rose Potter had gotten herself into a mess. Each bond was adding to her power, but she was gaining many weaknesses along the way too. If somehow, Vitality the Phoenix were to die for good, Rose Potters magic would be slim to none, the only reason she would have any at all would be because of the other bonds she had created.

However, in the meeting, it was decided that Rose would never know this fact.

* * *

"Miss Potter?"

Rose turned when she heard Dumbledore, holding back a yawn as she had just been about to go to the common room to get some sleep. Fred and George stayed by her side, holding her hands gently.

"Yes, Professor?"

"I need you to go to my office, Sirius's fiancé has gone into labor and he requested that you and Harry be allowed to leave Hogwarts for the birth."

All tiredness that had been running through Rose fled at those words and she went wide-eyed, "Oh my Merlin! Oh, but I have to get back to Emery-" Rose was about to turn to Fred and George to tell them to apologize to Emery when Dumbledore spoke up again.

"I will bring your trunk to you, Miss Potter. The password is licorice wands."

Rose nodded her head and raced up to Dumbledore's office, only pausing to give both Fred and George a hasty kiss on the cheek, and then barely even taking a moment to look at and fawn over Fawkes, before she was dashing through the floo and to the maternity ward of St. Mungo's.

There, in the waiting room, was a pacing Remus, an amused Faith, along with a beaming Sarah. Rose looked around for Sirius for a moment, but when she didn't see him she walked up to Remus.

"So, Victoria is in labor," Rose said with wide eyes.

"She has been for a while," Remus said as he drew Rose into a tight hug. "It's so good to see you. How has your Christmas been? I see you're still in your dress robes."

Rose blushed and laughed quietly, "I was just heading to the common room when Dumbledore stopped me, actually. Once my trunk gets here-"

Just then Harry appeared, dragging Rose's trunk behind him. "You ordered a trunk?"

"I did! Emery is in there and-"

"Wait, your dragon is in here?!"

"Well, yes, he-"

"Rose, he's too big, he must be suffocating!"

"No, it's really-"

But it was too late, as Harry had already popped the top of the trunk up to find organized stacks of clothing.

"You were lying to me," Harry accused.

"No, I really wasn't." Rose snapped as she shut the trunk of her lid, starting to fiddle and twirl dials. "If you would've listened to me you would know that I actually use our trunks magical capabilities and I keep Emery in, essentially, a cave that he's very fond of." Rose raised the lid of her trunk to find a latter leading down, and she turned to Remus who was smiling.

"Will you tap on the lid if I'm not back in time? Just twice."

"Of course," Remus said with a nod. Rose smiled and climbed onto the latter, and was about to pull the lid down when Harry spoke up, "I want to go in too!"

Rose paused and looked at Harry, "Well… What for?"

"It's a trunk," Harry deadpanned. "You actually _did stuff_ with your trunk! I've only used two compartments!"

Rose would roll her eyes and motion for him to climb onto the latter as she climbed down, "Shut the lid behind you!"

The heard a dull thud above her as she dropped down in the housing compartment. She didn't even let Harry look around before she hummed and pulled him to a guest room. "You get changed out of your dress robes; you have clothes in here. Ah," Rose held up her hand to stop him from speaking, "no questions yet. Hurry up."

Rose left quickly and went to her room to change quickly, and then met Harry outside of his room once she was in yoga pants and a sweater, with her wand holster holding her wand in her sleeve.

"What is this place?" Harry asked in wonder as she lead him to the front door, not to the latter.

"Oh, it's my little slice of heaven, actually. Now, bear with me, we have to go see Emery."

"Your dragon?"

"Yes." Rose knocked on the door three times, and the cracks around it glowed white for a moment before she opened it and stepped into the cave with Harry.

"Momma!" Emery and Eddie chorused before both tensed up at the sight of Harry.

"It's fine, boys," Rose assured as she wrapped an arm around Harry. "He's my brother, so he's your uncle."

Harry was too stunned to speak, however.

"Not much of an uncle," Emery said with a sigh as he laid his head down on a small pile of knuts that Zolsy had been giving him.

"Yeah, doesn't talk much," Eddie noted.

"Speak, Harry."

"Hi –" Harry squeaked before he cleared his throat and tried again. "Hi."

"And the uncle speaks!" Emery roared, releasing a small burst of flame and making Harry squeak again.

"Behave!" Rose pointed at Emery sternly.

"I don't want to Be Have I want to be Emery," Emery sniped back.

Rose groaned and shook her head, "I'll be back later, darlings," Rose said as she approached them, the closer she got the more potent she got the more the room smelled like chocolate chip cookies. She stroked Emery's nose gently, leaning down to kiss between his eye bridges, and then rubbed Eddie's ears before kissing his nose.

"Will dads be with you when you come back?" Emery asked in a small voice.

"Hopefully, love."

Emery and Eddie simply nodded and went back to playing as Rose walked back to Harry. "Ready to go meet our brother or sister?"

"No," Harry admitted as a ladder appeared and he started climbing up it.

"Neither am I," Rose would admit. "I'm not sure I'm good with human babies. I like animals and creatures better."

"I can tell," Harry muttered as he pushed the trunks lid open, only to be confronted by some hospital staff.

"What is this? What's in the trunk?" an angry healer was asking as Harry and Rose climbed out.

"Sorry, ma'am," Remus said with a sigh. "This is Rose and Harry Potter. Rose recently, as I'm sure you've heard, acquired a dragon and has been taking care of it. She wasn't able to be with it much today, due to a ball at Hogwarts, so she needed to make sure it was still okay and didn't think it was a good idea to release it in the middle of the hospital."

The threat was easy to decipher for Rose and she glanced at Remus slightly wide-eyed.

"Well I-"

"Guys!" Sirius burst through the waiting room doors with wide happy eyes, interrupting the healer in the process. "Guys, guys! It was twins!"

"Sirius, your hand is in a cast," Remus said, deadpan.

"You're the godfather, mate," Sirius said, ignoring Remus's comment, as he barreled into his friend's chest and hugged him tightly. "Maggie and Lucas Black! They're beautiful, just beautiful!"

He then noticed Rose and Harry and went over to squeeze them too, "And you both made it! They're twins, like you! You can help us take care of them!"

Rose snorted a laugh, but Harry solemnly nodded his head, "What type of older siblings would we be if we didn't help take care of them?"

Sirius faltered for a moment and Rose knew this was a big moment. She remembered calling him 'daddy' when she was very young, and him sitting her down and telling her all sorts of stories about her real daddy. However, in her heart, this was her dad, and she knew Harry felt the same.

"I mean, I can take them for rides on a Nundu if that's what they want," Rose offered with a smirk, breaking the momentary tension.

"Rose Lillian Potter you will do no such thing!" Remus admonished.

"I will do no such thing, got it."

"I don't know, I think it would be interesting," Sarah said with a smirk.

"Sarah!" Sirius called as he whipped around and pulled the woman into a large hug which she returned even tighter, "You're the godmother!"

"Well of course I am. No offense, Faith," Sarah said as she patted the ecstatic Sirius on the back.

"Nein offenze vas taken, Zarah," Faith assured as she patted Remus on the back, who had apparently only just let the fact he was godfather sink in. Rose knew there'd be an argument about that later, and she was glad she was going to miss it.

"Rose, Harry, let's have you meet the babies first because you need to get back to school," Remus spoke up, knowing if someone didn't take lead no one would meet them.

"Right! Yes! That's a great idea, Moony old friend old pal!" Sirius crowed.

This was the day that Rose decided that all the cooing mothers that fawned over red-faced, squishy, squalling babies were absolutely right. Maggie was put into Rose's arms and she felt her world realign. Perhaps, one day, Rose would like to have her own child. Perhaps, one day, Rose and the twins….

"Well, how does it feel to be an older sister?" Victoria asked, tiredly.

"Like…. I would do anything for them," Rose said with a small smile and a great sigh. "I swear I'll do everything in my power to keep them safe."

"Damn straight you will," Victoria said with a grin.

The trip back to Hogwarts was uneventful. Dumbledore congratulated them on their new siblings, and then shooed them back to the tower. Harry and Rose hugged each other tightly, Rose with tears in her eyes, and Harry… well, his eyes were still very manly, even if they looked a little wet.

"We're older siblings," Rose said in amazement as she shrunk her trunk and started trekking up the stairs to the male dormitories with Harry.

"I've always been an older sibling," Harry said with a grin. "But it is in a new way now."

"Oh, hush you!"

Rose laughed as Harry walked into his dorm and continued until she was in the Twins dorm, where the excited twins were waiting for her.

"Well?" They chorused.

"They're… Beautiful. I love them already. However, Emery and Eddie want to see us, so we'll have to wait for the full story until later."

* * *

Everybody got up late on Boxing Day. The Gryffindor common room was much quieter than it had been lately, many yawns punctuating the lazy conversations. Hermione's hair was bushy again; she confessed to Rose that she would love to know what the elf had done so she herself could do it later in her life.

It was time now to think of the homework they had neglected during the first week of the holidays. Everybody seemed to be feeling rather flat now that Christmas was over – everybody except Harry, that is, who was starting (once again) to feel slightly nervous.

The problem, Rose thought, was that February the twenty-fourth looked a lot closer from this side of Christmas, and she knew he still hadn't done anything about working out the clue inside the golden egg.

So, that was how Rose found herself cornering Roma in a hallway to talk about it, "The egg," she whispered in a rush. "How does it work?"

"Harry doesn't know yet?" Roma hissed back.

"No! He wouldn't listen to me, and I'm sure I'm missing something but he won't let me take the egg!" Rose hugged her Care of Magical Creatures book closer to her chest and looked at Roma with wide, sad eyes.

"Tell him to take a bath with the egg."

"It can be understood underwater?"

"I have to go, Rose," Roma said, hugging her swiftly as he shook his head before walking away.

When Rose arrived at Hagrid's cabin not long after that, she found an elderly witch with closely cropped gray hair and a very prominent chin standing before his front door.

"Hurry up, now, the bell rang five minutes ago," she barked at them as they struggled toward her through the snow.

"Who're you?" said Ron, staring at her. "Where's Hagrid?"

"My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank," she said briskly. "I am your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry repeated loudly as Rose felt dread fill her stomach.

"He is indisposed," said Professor Grubbly-Plank shortly.

Soft and unpleasant laughter reached Rose's ears. She turned; Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins were joining the class. All of them looked gleeful, and none of them looked surprised to see Professor Grubbly- Plank. Rose tried to ask Draco to explain with her eyes, but he wouldn't look at her.

"This way, please," said Professor Grubbly-Plank as she strode off around the paddock where the Beauxbatons horses were shivering. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Rose followed her, looking back over their shoulders at Hagrid's cabin All the curtains were closed. Has Hagrid in there, alone and ill?

"What's wrong with Hagrid?" Harry asked Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"Never you mind," she said as though she thought he was being nosy.

"I do mind, though," said Harry hotly. "What's up with him?"

Professor Grubbly-Plank acted as though she couldn't hear him. She led them past the paddock and toward a tree on the edge of the forest where a large and beautiful unicorn was tethered.

Many of the girls "ooooohed!" at the sight of the unicorn, but all Rose could think was that it was a shame it was tied up.

"Oh it's so beautiful!" whispered Lavender Brown. "How did she get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"

The unicorn was so brightly white it made the snow all around look gray. It was pawing the ground nervously with its golden hooves and throwing back its horned head.

"Boys keep back!" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank, throwing out an arm and catching Harry hard in the chest. "They prefer the woman's touch, unicorns. Girls, to the front, and approach with care, come on, easy does it…"

"Hardly fair," Rose muttered as she looked back to the boys but continued forward with the other girls.

The other girls started to crowd around the unicorn and pet it, but Rose gazed at it unseeingly from a distance away. The creature was in distress at being tied up, and it wasn't handling the attention well. She wanted to scream for everyone to get back as Professor Grubbly-Plank started listing off all of the magical properties of a unicorn, and soon enough the unicorn was looking solely at her.

"I'm so sorry," Rose spoke quietly, with tears in her eyes, feeling helpless to help the beautiful creature.

That's when it happened. The unicorn's muscles bunched together and it reared up and back, making the girls scream and run away, all besides Rose and Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"Woah! Woah there!" Professor Grubbly plank yelled, "Rune, calm down!"

Rune wasn't listening though, and Rose felt her heart breaking. Without thinking she approached Rune the Unicorn and it started settling down. Rose's hands reached up and gently caressed the mane of Rune and she hummed without a melody to it, soon hearing a phoenix song join her. Looking up she saw Vitality circling the tree that Rune was tied too.

"Miss Potter, you and I need to talk."

Rose looked up from her place tucked into the neck of the unicorn, Rune, and blushed a bit at the awed stares she was getting, "I'm sorry… It doesn't like being tied up and pet like… Like a common stallion."

"That's for me to decide and-"

"It's a sentient creature!"

There was a coo from above her and Rose held her arm out on instinct, Vitality landing on it. Rose was sure she was making quite the scene right now; an arm wrapped around a unicorn, the purest of creatures, and an arm with a phoenix on it.

"Miss Potter, how-"

"Professor Grubbly-Plank," Rose said with a hard glare. "I think you're unfit to train this class! Everyone knows that Unicorns are free spirits, you can't just tie them up; they must want to be there of their own volition! And if you can't manage that… Well, then you're just not as good as Hagrid is!"

"No one can get a unicorn to stay in an area without preventative measures!"

Rose watched as the class slowly trickled closer to hear the argument, but she couldn't stop herself, "Oh yeah? That's what you're saying? I bet you…. I bet you your resignation that I can get this unicorn to follow me all day!"

Professor Grubbly-Plank looked very angry, but suddenly very unsure. After all, Rose had a dragon she took care of, and there was a phoenix on her arm, and the Unicorn had started to nuzzle Rose's neck.

"I hardly believe that would be necessary," she spoke up weakly.

"Oh, so you're not confident in this bet?" Harry spoke up with a smirk.

"It's almost like you know you'll have to resign!" Ron chimed in.

"I'd hardly resign based off of- of childish notions!" Professor Grubbly-Plank sputtered.

"Yeah? Well then, let's take this bet to Dumbledore! That way you won't have to resign, you can just be fired!" Rose's eyes were alight with fire, and Vitality quietly cooed into her hair before launching off her arm and settling on the back of Rune the Unicorn. "Then we can have Hagrid back!"

The class was watching the argument with wide eyes. Rose hadn't gone off on a Professor since Snape, and Snape hadn't been teaching for awhile now.

"Ten points from Gryffindor!" Professor Grubbly-Plank yelled.

The class stopped dead at those words, and Rose's head lowered as she felt rage fill her. Ten points from Gryffindor? For what exactly? Nothing. For nothing. For fighting for the rights of a sentient magical being! Pulses of magic started rippling off of Rose's body, and Harry tried to get to her but was held back by Hermione, who whispered rapidly in his ear.

"Fine," Rose said, her voice turning everyone's blood to ice. "If that's what you want." Rose turned pointed her wand at the rope holding Rune, and simply spoke, _"Diffindo!"_ Before she turned her back and started walking to the castle, with Rune the Unicorn following her, and Vitality going along for the ride.


	26. Chapter 26

_Dear Rose,_

 _Here's that book I mentioned. Hopefully, it treats you well. Please be careful with it, and don't let others see you with it, besides perhaps those twins of yours. Triads are rare and dangerous, as you're about to find out._

 _Roma_

 _ **All as one; The True Story of Triads**_

 _ **By Mary-Anne, Lars, and Dante**_

To whom it may concern;

No, those are not our real names, and no, you will not learn of our true identities. If you did - pardon the cliché -we would have to kill you. No ifs, ands, ors, or buts. For the purpose of this tale, our names are unnecessary, all that you need to know is that we are a true triad, and we are writing this book as a warning to those to find themselves in the same predicament as we have. Please; take heed of our warnings, and note that we do not write these words to scare you, dear reader. We are only trying to inform you of the danger you now find yourself in if you are indeed in a Triad.

I, Mary-Anne, will be the main author of this tale. Although not the center of the triad – that would be Lars – I am the best spoken, or in this case, best at writing. This book will update to the best-known vernacular of the holder, and will only be able to be read by those who do not want to use its secrets, of which there are many. This book will appear as _A History of The Elements in Magic_ to anyone who is not reading it. That includes someone in your Triad, if you're in a Triad, so you may want to explain that to them.

All in all, dear reader, we warn you that these pages hold secrets but they also hold danger and a history the world would rather we forget. Please remember that not everyone you meet deserves to know these secrets, and to check just hand them the book. It'll be a good learning experience for everyone.

* * *

"Harry…. Harryyy…" Rose's voice was a whisper, and she was using some of her hair to tickle her twins face. "Harrrryyy…"

"G'way," was Harry's groaned response as he threw an arm up to block his face from her hairy assault. "'M sleepin' here."

"I'm aware, twin 'o mine," Rose would whisper her assurance, "but I think I've figured out a bit about your egg problem."

At that Harry's head shot up and they almost clashed but Rose dodged just in time. "You think you've figured out something about the egg?!"

"Shh!" Rose hushed, looking around his dorm at his snoring mates. "Yes, yes, I did. I want you to try to listen to it under water."

Harry looked disgruntled. "Like, take a bath with it?"

"Yeah, like take a bath with it. It'll likely tell you what you want to know then." Rose would shrug her shoulders. "I mean, if it doesn't work in the air water is the only other option. It doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard so I doubt it's an animal call or something like that, so maybe it's an aquatic thing I've never heard."

Harry would sigh and nod, "Yeah, I'll do that… What time is it."

Rose blushed a bit. "It's 3 in the morning."

"What are you doing in my dorm at 3 in the morning?" Harry hissed.

"Telling you about the egg. I just had the revelation," Rose lied. "So I figured I'd tell you now."

"Ahh… Well… Get out now."

Rose held a hand to her chest, "You wound me, brother," but at that moment Neville released a giant snore and she startled a bit, and looked at her twin. "You know what, actually… I'll totally just leave now."

Harry snorted and shook his head, laying back down, "Yeah, you do that."

* * *

"Miss Potter?" A genial voice called.

Rose stayed silent, holding onto the newest edition of her 'hoard'. She wasn't quite sure how long she had been avoiding everyone, but she had left her link to the twins up so they could assure everyone she was fine if completely necessary. She had been warned of this visitor, but she couldn't be bothered to care either. If he caused a disturbance it was his own fault and if he irritated any of her children, or dared raise a wand to them…

A flicker of rage, much like a flame on a candle wavered inside of her, before a feeling from the twins – not unlike her own – made it seem as if gasoline were poured over her candle and suddenly she was a bonfire. Who did he think he was to barge into _her_ trunk? Who did he think he was to hire Professor Grubbly-Plank when Hagrid was a perfectly good professor? Who did he think he was to-

Wait, was he petting something?

She whipped around and sure enough, there squatted Dumbledore in his purple-robed glory. His beard was slung over his shoulder – much to the joy of Weiss the Kneazle, who was stretching her muscular body to bat at the beard, her white fur rustling with the force of her purr. It was also obvious why Dumbledore had bent down, as Weiss's most recent offspring, Celeste, was laying on the ground, her gray fur standing on end as she assessed whether Dumbledore was a threat or not. Dumbledore's posture was non-threatening, and his hand was held out upside down in case Celeste decided to sniff him, but he was struggling to balance a bit with Weiss's weight pressing against his back.

And just like that, Rose's anger flickered out and died; it was hard to be angry at someone when you were suddenly reminded they weren't omnipotent, simply human. She sighed as she looked at Rune mournfully. She knew the chances of Dumbledore taking him were slim, but with Dumbledore's presence that meant there was some sort of trouble and that she, likely, was either the cause or the solution.

"Her name is Celeste," Rose offered as she slowly approached to not spook the easily frightened kitten. "And the one on your back is her mother, Weiss."

"This really is an extraordinary piece of magic, Miss Potter," Dumbledore commented with his twinkling blue eyes looking up at Rose. "It seems that you have everything in here! I have passed through a rainforest, a cave, plains, and a tundra to get here, and this is a forest. I wonder how it's sustainable?"

"Well, honestly," Rose said, her cheeks a bit pink with the subtle praise. "At first it wasn't. I didn't have enough creatures in each area to create the idea of natural habitats, and some creatures rather like being on their own, not in groups. Then the issue of food and water came up… But with the help of my house-elf, Rover, I've been able to balance everything. They all have enough food, of the types they like, and they stay in their own habitats for the most part. That's, ironically, what the Kneazles and Kenelm are for. They make it so the creatures stay where they're meant to be."

"Amazing," Dumbledore said with a grin, finally retracting his offer for attention from Celeste and turning so he could pet Weiss. "And what exactly is a Kenelm?"

"Oh," Rose blushed. "Kenelm the Animal Sentinel. He's a half-breed. Half Crup half Pitbull." And just like that Rose's mood crashed again. Half-breed. That's what they were calling Hagrid now. Because people could definitely choose who their parents were, couldn't they? And they could certainly decide their parents were of the same race.

"Ahh," Dumbledore said, his voice taking a grim turn along with Rose's words. "Yes, about _that_ …"

"How could you hire that… That woman when you already have a great Care of Magical Creatures teacher? She tied up a Unicorn!" Rose gestured wildly behind her to Rune who whinnied and tossed his head. "Hagrid is so much better!"

Dumbledore sighed, his hand stilling on Weiss's back; "I'm neither saying that she is better nor worse, Miss Potter, but I do agree that I would like Hagrid back doing his job. However, it is convincing _him_ that he is good enough that is the issue. I believe it will still be a short time before he will allow himself to be seen again."

Rose's anger melted a bit and she paused, kneeling on the ground and motioning to Celest who waddled over and got her head scratched. "You mean… You mean you're not sacking Hagrid?"

"I'd never dream of it," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "I just needed someone to teach the class until that time he would return."

Rose sighed in relief and nodded her head, "Good. Okay. Is that… Is that the only reason you came in here?"

"Oh, no," Dumbledore's grin widened. "I wanted to see where the elusive Miss Potter and her band of Merry Animals hid away, and I am glad to say that I am not disappointed. However, I would like to see what other animals you have here?"

His words weren't a demand, more of an honest question as to whether he would be allowed or not, and Rose found herself grinning. "Of course I'll show you! I won't show you _everything_ of course; I don't have time for that and neither do you, but I'll let you meet Eddie and Emery. You've already sort of met Emery, but he was still an egg."

"Your Hungarian Horntail?" Dumbledore inquired as he began attempting to extricate himself from Weiss's grip.

"The very same," Rose said with a nod, stopping petting Celest and standing up. After a few moments of Dumbledore wrestling with Weiss Rose would clap her hands and sigh, "Come on Weiss. Time for the Professor and I to go."

" _Yes, well, I quite disagree Rose. However… If you scratch my chest later…"_ Was what Rose heard when Weiss meowed at her, so she nodded her head, letting the cat know that she agreed without outright letting her ability be known.

Weiss extricated herself from Dumbledore with a huff and floofed up her tail as if insulted, starting to saunter away, Celest following looking more like a dust mite who had gained sentience than an actual animal. Rose would then look at her elder and smile very slightly, suddenly feeling a little nervous. Wasn't this the man who had helped create the uses for Dragon's blood? But she waved the concern away, she wouldn't let him do anything to her baby.

"Alright, remember how you said you passed a cave? We're going to go near there. The cave system is mainly for Emery. Granted Eddie joins too, but that's not really where he's _meant_ to be if you follow me. He is supposed to be more plains or desert." Rose would approach Dumbledore and smile up at the tall man before waving her hand, "But I'll be nice and take you on a shortcut. Rune, you stay safe," She'd call back to her Unicorn, who agreed to stay safe before she put her hand on a tree. A moment later a door appeared on the tree, large enough for both Dumbledore and Rose to fit through and she'd pull the door open, smiling at her elder. "Right this way sir."

"This really is amazing Magic," Dumbledore would say as he and Rose made their way out of a tree that was rather close to the cave they were approaching. "I don't believe tree travel has been implemented in many years, yet here I am witnessing it for myself!"

"And experiencing it," Rose would say with a roguish grin before she'd hold her hand out to Dumbledore to stop him from moving forward anymore, "I'm going to call him out here just to be safe. He's rather territorial, for obvious reasons."

"That's completely understandable, my girl," Dumbledore said with a grin, his beard still thrown over his shoulder, but somehow Rose doubted he even realized it, but she didn't feel like pointing it out to him either.

"Emery, come out here please!" She called, being careful to just sound like a regular human calling for a pet, like a dog. She braced herself for his grumbling, but none came. The only way she knew he was approaching was the ground had started to shake a bit, then the shaking got more and more prominent the closer to the entrance of the cave Emery got. Although only three months old he was big enough to at least shake pebbles loose from the ground, his steps not quite thundering, but almost there. For now, as Dumbledore would discover when Emery exited the cave, Emery was as big as Rose. It seemed that at this young age he doubled in size every month, and Rose had started to worry that the poor dear would be stuck in her trunk forever. That would be an issue she'd have to bring up with Remus, likely.

"My he is getting big," Dumbledore would remark, looking over Emery. Emery's golden eyes were very alert at the moment, both because he was leaving his hoard (Rose resisted rolling her eyes every time Zolsy gave him a new item to find) and because he didn't know Dumbledore. There was a pause as he stood there, smoke slowly billowing from his nostrils before Eddie sauntered out and nuzzled up against Rose.

"Mrowl?" Eddie said, having picked up on the fact that Rose couldn't understand him if he didn't actually speak.

"Boys, this is Professor Dumbledore. He's the reason I've been allowed to keep Emery and that I am allowed to be in here so often." Rose started absently braiding her hair as Eddie nuzzled her because he had a horrible habit of messing it up beyond repair.

Emery huffed and approached, stopping his steady stream of smoke. He stopped in front of Dumbledore and Rose before sighing and laying down, still looking regal but at least not as tall. Rose almost said 'good boy' but with a single glance Emery shut down her need to say that.

"So, have you encountered any issues raising these too? Emery and… Eddie, was it?" Dumbledore asked as he tilted his head to look at Emery closer without insulting the Dragon by approaching.

"Not too many," Rose admitted. "Small bouts of jealousy," at the word Eddie sent out a blast of Chocolate Chip cookies that he had been using to subdue Emery's and his own jealousy for awhile since their last fight. "and the occasional sibling argument, but nothing I haven't been able to handle. As long as I stay calm around this one," Rose's hand would rub against Eddie's cheek just how he liked it, "then there are no problems with his gas as he was mainly raised by me. For Emery, he just gets little trinkets and such for his hoard when he's a good boy."

"Fascinating," Dumbledore muttered, looking over Eddie now. "May I approach him?"

Rose looked at Eddie who mewed adorably and she grinned, "Well, I don't see why not. He's really rather personable."

Dumbledore slowly approached Eddie, his hand outstretched but not aggressive as he took short, small steps. Eddie glanced at Rose before slowly approaching Dumbledore with a hunched head to show he wouldn't attack, and a rumbling purr to appease everyone before his head gently bumped into the Professor's hand.

"He is very soft and…" Dumbledore took a deep sniff, "He smells wonderful too. Is that chocolate chip cookies?"

Rose nodded her head and laughed, "Yeah, since no one's ever _really_ taken care of a Nundu we didn't know that they could do this, but with his mood, he'll change how he smells. Some of them are comforting, like the cookies, others invigorating like when he smells like oranges, and others of them make you lazy, like lavender."

"Simply fascinating," Dumbledore muttered, investigating the pouches on Eddie's neck now while being carefully scrutinized by both Rose and Emery. "And this is what expands when he roars, yes? It can both be filled with the gas, but also fill with sound to make him seem larger?"

"Indeed. Granted as he grows – did you know they get about as big as elephants? – he won't need to do it to sound bigger unless something happens to his vocal chords. Which, with a human watching over him, no offense Eddie, shouldn't happen. Granted it _is_ still possible but I'll watch over him to make sure it doesn't happen."

"Amazing. Thank you, Miss Potter, for this wonderful experience. I'm very glad that I got to meet these two strapping young men, and that they are so very well behaved. Do you think, at some point, I could arrange with you a day that those who sign up can meet with some of your animals? Granted we may have to arrange it by year…" Dumbledore hummed to himself as he thought before snapping back into focus. "But regardless, I think you have a great future ahead of you, Rose Potter. A great future indeed. But for now, the real matter on hand. How do I get out of here?"

* * *

Rose had finally started showing her face around the school at the same time that the golden trio convinced Hagrid that he could show his face. And that is also when Harry finally came to speak to Rose about the egg after her advice. She had been sitting in Ravenclaw's study, savoring her moment of quiet when Harry appeared and looked around, his face splitting into a grin when he saw Rose.

"Rose, thank Merlin! I need help, and Hermione can only do so much." Harry's voice showed how frazzled he was, if his hair hadn't already, so Rose set her book down and looked at the purring Maple. She combed her fingers through her fur before motioning to her twin to sit down in the chair opposite of her.

"Come brother o' mine and allow me to wipe away your fears," Rose said as she continued to pet Maple.

Harry walked to the chair and sat, sighing heavily. "We cracked the egg, pun intended, and I don't know what to do about what's in it."

"Well, what's in it?"

"A riddle."

"Yeah, because _that_ helps me help you."

"Sorry, it says; _Come seek us where our voices sound,_ _we cannot sing above the ground,_ _a_ _nd while you're searching ponder this;_ _w_ _e've taken what you'll sorely miss,_ _a_ _n hour long you'll have to look,_ _a_ _nd to recover what we took,_ _b_ _ut past an hour, the prospect's black,_ _too late, it's gone, it won't come back."_

Rose blinked and sighed, "Do you have it written down?"

Harry nodded and put his paper on the desk so Rose could look it over, she'd hum and bite her lower lip. "So it's about mermaids, and they'll take something you'll sorely miss, perhaps your broom? So…. Oh! They want you to go underwater! Likely the black lake."

"Well, yes," Harry said thoughtfully. "But I can't breath under water."

"Then grow gills." Rose said easily, thinking strictly in the line of nature naturally before muttering, "Or I suppose a bubblehead charm would work, but you don't learn those until way later."

"Gills! Thanks, Rose, Hermione and I will work on that! At least you gave us something to look into!" Harry stood quickly to leave, and Rose called out after him.

"Ask Neville if there are any plants that can do it! You never know, after all."

Harry threw her a thumbs up and disappeared. Rowena chose that moment to speak up, "You do realize Gilly weed would do that for him perfectly well?"

"Oh, of course, I did. That's why I sent him to Neville; this isn't the Triwizard Tournament with Champion Harry Potter and Co-Champion Rose Potter, after all. This is his fight, I can't tell him everything."

"If only everyone was as moral as you, Miss Potter, the world would be a much better place."

"Much less exciting, but yes, a much better place." Rose would say with a laugh. "It'll take a long time for society to even get close to that point, however. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to reading."

"Of course. Enjoy your book, Rose."

"Always."


End file.
